Dear SEN Group members,
On November 29, your bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with the Senate on our new collective agreement. I would like to acknowledge the hard work of our bargaining team over many months on this work: Emily Barrette, François Michaud and Mark Palmer.
The bargaining team will be recommending ratification of this agreement by the SEN Group.
If ratified by members, wage increases will be as follows:
- October 01, 2022 – Increase to rates of pay: 3.5% + 1.25%
- October 01, 2023 – Increase to rates of pay: 3% + 0.5%
- July 01, 2024 – Increase to rates of pay: 2% + 0.25%
- October 01, 2025 – Increase to rates of pay: 2%
for a total % increase of 13.14% (compounded).
The agreement also provides for a one-time lump-sum payment of $2500 on the date of the signing agreement. Members may choose whether they would like this payment to be pensionable or non-pensionable.
We also achieved the following improvements to employee benefit and protection clauses:
- Beginning on October 1, 2025, each hour worked in excess of 12 hours in one day will be compensated at the end of the following month at the rate of 1.5 of the hourly rate of pay. This means that these hours will be time-and-a-halfed before September 30, which is the case for all other overtime hours worked.
- A new clause has been added acknowledging that all members can complete some of their tasks while teleworking.
- The application of family related leave was extended to include grandchildren, parents-in-law, siblings, step-siblings, or any relative for whom the employee has a duty of care.
- New family related leave with pay to visit a family member who, due to an incurable terminal illness, is nearing the end of their life.
- New family related leave to attend a school function.
- Fourteen hours of new family related leave for non-work-related appointments with a professional (for example, with a lawyer, paralegal or accountant).
The next steps will be for the employer to ratify the agreement, and for our members to ratify it as well. There will be an information session providing an in-depth explanation of the agreement before members are asked to vote on the agreement. A ratification kit with detailed information will be sent to you in order to help you make an informed decision on the ratification of this tentative agreement.
Best,
Sara Gajic