NRC TR Collective Agreement Expiry: 20 June 2018

ARTICLE 1 – PURPOSE, RECOGNITION AND APPLICATION OF AGREEMENT

1.01     The purpose of this Agreement is to maintain harmonious and mutually beneficial relationships between the Council, the employees and the Professional Institute, to set forth certain terms and conditions of employment relating to remuneration, hours of work, employee benefits and general working conditions affecting employees covered by this Agreement.

1.02     The parties to this Agreement share a desire to improve the quality of services rendered by employees, to maintain professional standards and to improve well-being and increased efficiency.  Accordingly, the parties are determined to establish and foster an effective working relationship.

1.03     The Council recognizes the Professional Institute as the exclusive bargaining agent for all employees in the bargaining unit described in the certificate issued by the Public Service Staff Relations Board (PSSRB) on the 19^th day of June 1968, covering employees of the Council classified in the Translator grades, Administrative and Foreign Service Category.

1.04     The Council recognizes that it is a proper function and a right of the Professional Institute to bargain with a view to arriving at a Collective Agreement and both parties agree to bargain in good faith in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Labour Relations   Act (PSLRA).

1.05     The provisions of this Agreement apply to the Professional Institute, employees and the Council.

1.06     In this agreement, words importing the masculine gender shall include the feminine gender.

1.07     Both the English and French texts of this agreement shall be official.

ARTICLE 2 – INTERPRETATION AND DEFINITIONS

2.01     For the purpose of this Agreement,

a) “bargaining unit” means all the employees of the Council classified in the Translator grades, Administrative and Foreign Service Category, as described in the certificate issued by the former Public Service Staff Relations Board on 19 June, 1968 (« unité de négociation »);

b) a “common-law partner” refers to a person living in a conjugal relationship with an employee for a continuous period of at least one (1) year (« conjoint de fait »);

c) “compensatory leave” means leave with pay in lieu of payment by cheque as provided for in Article 11 – Overtime, Article 12 – Call-Back Pay and Article 28 – Travelling. Such leave with pay will be computed and credited to the employee at the same overtime rate as for monetary compensation (« congé de compensation »);

d) “continuous employment” and “continuous service” have the same meaning as in the existing rules and regulations of the Council on the date of the signing of this Agreement (« emploi continu » ou « service continu »);

e) “daily rate of pay” means an employee’s weekly rate of pay divided by five (5) (« taux de rémunération journalier »);

f) “day of rest” in relation to an employee means a day other than a designated holiday on which that employee is not ordinarily required to perform the duties of his/her position other than by reason of his/her being on leave of absence (« jour de repos »);

g) “double time” means twice the “hour for hour” rate (« tarif double »);

h) “employee” means a person who is a member of the bargaining unit (« employé »);

i) “Employer”, “Council” and “NRC” mean the National Research Council of Canada (« employeur », le « Conseil » et le « CNRC »);

j) “headquarters area” has the same meaning as given in the expression in the NRC Travel Directive as may be amended from time to time (« zone d’affectation »);

k) “holiday” means the twenty-four (24) hour period commencing at 12:01 a.m. of a day designated as a holiday in this Agreement (« jour férié »);

l) “hour for hour” means  the  employee’s  weekly rate of pay divided by thirty-seven decimal five (37.5) (« heure pour heure »);

m) “lay-off” means termination of services of an employee because of lack of work or because of the discontinuance of a function (« mise en disponibilité »);

n) “leave of absence” means permission to be absent from duty (« congé d’absence »);

o) “membership dues” mean the dues established pursuant to the bylaws and regulations of the Professional Institute as the dues payable by its members as a consequence of their membership in the Professional Institute, and shall not include any initiation fee, insurance premium, or special levy (« cotisations » ou « retenues syndicales »);

p) “Professional Institute” means the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (« Institut professionnel »);

q) “Public Service” means Public Service as defined in the, Public Service Labour Relations Act Schedule 1 (« fonction publique »);

r) “spouse” will, when required, be interpreted to include “common-law partner” as defined in this article (« époux »);

s) “straight-time rate” means the employee’s weekly rate of pay divided by thirty-seven decimal five (37.5) (« taux simple »);

t) “time and one-half” means one and one-half (1 1/2) times the hour for hour rate (« taux et demi »);

u) “weekly rate of pay” means an employee’s annual rate of pay divided by 52.176 (« taux de rémunération hebdomadaire »);

2.02     Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, expressions used in this Agreement,

a) if defined in the Public Service Labour Relations Act, have the same meaning as given to them in the Public Service Labour Relations Act, and

b) if defined in the Interpretation Act, but not defined in the Public Service Labour Relations Act, have the same meaning as given to them in the Interpretation Act.

ARTICLE 3 – INTERPRETATION OF AGREEMENT

3.01     The parties agree that, in the event of a dispute arising out of the interpretation of a clause or article in this Agreement, it is desirable that such dispute shall in the first instance be referred in writing to the parties who will meet within a reasonable time and seek to resolve the problem. This Article does not prevent an employee from making use of the grievance procedure provided in this Agreement.

ARTICLE 4 – MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

4.01     All the functions, rights, powers and authority that the Council has not specifically abridged, delegated or modified by this Agreement are recognized by the Professional Institute as being retained by the Council.

ARTICLE 5 – RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES

5.01     Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as an abridgement or restriction of any employee’s constitutional rights or of any right expressly conferred in an Act of the Parliament of Canada.

5.02     No Discrimination or Harassment

(a)        There shall be no discrimination, interference, restriction, coercion, harassment, intimidation or any disciplinary action exercised or practiced with respect to an employee by reason of age, race, creed, color, national origin, religious affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, marital status, family status, mental or physical disability, conviction for which a pardon has been granted or membership or activity in the Professional Institute.

(b)        Any level in the grievance procedure shall be waived if a person hearing the grievance is the subject of the complaint.

(c)        By mutual agreement, the parties may use a mediator in an attempt to settle a grievance dealing with discrimination or harassment.  The selection of the mediator will be by mutual agreement.

(d)        Upon request by the complainant(s) and/or the respondent(s), an official copy of the investigation report shall be provided to them by the Council subject to the Access to Information and Privacy Act.

5.03     Sexual Harassment

(a) The Professional Institute and the Council recognize the right of employees to work in an environment free from sexual harassment and agree that sexual harassment will not be tolerated in the workplace.

(b) Any level in the grievance procedure shall be waived if a person hearing the grievance is the subject of the complaint.

(c) By mutual agreement, the parties may use a mediator in an attempt to settle a grievance dealing with sexual harassment.  The selection of the mediator will be by mutual agreement.

(d) Upon request by the complainant(s) and/or the respondent(s), an official copy of the investigation report shall be provided to them by the Council subject to the Access to Information and Privacy Act.

ARTICLE 6 – PART-TIME EMPLOYEES

6.01     General

Employees whose normal scheduled hours of work are less than thirty-seven decimal five (37.5) hours per week shall be entitled to the benefits provided under this agreement in the same proportion as their weekly hours of work compare with the normal scheduled weekly hours of work of full-time employees, except that:

(a)        Hours Paid and Overtime

Employees shall be paid at the hourly rate of pay for all hours of work performed up to seven decimal five (7.5) hours in a day or thirty-seven decimal five (37.5) hours in a week, or at the hourly rate of pay for all hours of work performed up to other daily or weekly hours of work that may be prescribed in accordance with Article 10, and at time and one-half (1 1/2) the hourly rate of pay for all hours of work performed in excess of those hours.

(b)        Leave

Leave will only be provided

1. where it may displace other leave as prescribed by this Agreement, or
2. during those periods in which the employees are scheduled to perform their duties;
3. Days of Rest

The days of rest provisions of this collective agreement apply only in a week when the employee has worked five (5) days and a minimum of thirty-seven decimal five (37.5) hours in the week.

(d)               Designated Holidays

1. A part-time employee shall not be paid for the designated holidays but shall instead, be paid a premium of four and one-quarter percent (4.25%) for all straight-time hours during the period of part-time employment.
2. When a part-time employee is required to work on a day that is prescribed as a designated paid holiday for a full-time employee in clause 15.01 of this agreement, the employee shall be paid time and one-half (1 1/2) the hourly rate of pay for all hours worked on the holiday.
3. Severance Pay

For the purposes of Article 26 (Severance Pay), an employee whose continuous employment is a combination of both full-time and part-time continuous employment shall, for the purpose of Severance Pay, have those completed years of part-time continuous employment reduced in the same proportion as the part-time weekly hours of work compare with the normal scheduled weekly hours of work of full-time employees.

For such an employee who, on the date of the termination of his/her employment is a part-time employee, the weekly rate of pay referred to in Article 26 shall be the weekly rate of pay that the employee is being paid on termination, adjusted to the full-time weekly rate.

(f)        Pay Increment

The pay increment period for part-time employees will be the same as for full-time employees of the same group and level; the review date will be the anniversary date.

ARTICLE 7 – APPOINTMENT OF AND TIME-OFF FOR STEWARDS OR REPRESENTATIVES

7.01     The Council acknowledges the right of the Professional Institute to appoint Stewards or Representatives from amongst the employees. The Council and the Professional Institute shall by mutual agreement determine the geographical area of jurisdiction of each Steward or Representative, having regard to the plan of organization and the distribution of employees at the workplace.

7.02     A Steward or Representative appointed in accordance with clause 7.01 shall obtain the permission of his/her immediate supervisor before leaving work to investigate the complaint of an urgent nature from a fellow employee, to meet with local management for the purpose of discussing such complaints or problems directly related to employment and to attend meetings called by management. Such permission shall not be unreasonably withheld.

ARTICLE 8 – INFORMATION

8.01     The Council agrees to supply the Professional Institute each month with the name, classification, NRC Portfolio/Branch/IRAP and geographic location of each new employee and of each person who ceases to be an employee.

8.02     The Council agrees to supply each employee with a copy of the collective agreement and every amendment thereto. For the purpose of satisfying the Employer’s obligation under this clause, employees may be given electronic access to this Agreement. Where electronic access to the Agreement is unavailable or impractical, the employee shall be supplied, on request, with a hard copy of the Agreement.

8.03     Reasonable space on bulletin boards, including electronic bulletin boards where available, will be made available to the Professional Institute for the posting of official notices, in convenient locations determined by the Council and the Professional Institute. Notices or other material shall require the prior approval of the Council, except notices relating to the business affairs of the Professional Institute and social and recreational events. The Council shall have the right to refuse the posting of any information which it considers adverse to its interests or to the interests of any of its representatives.

8.04     The Council will make available to the Institute specific locations on its premises for the placement of reasonable quantities of literature of the Institute.

ARTICLE 9 – CHECK-OFF

9.01     Except as provided in clause 9.04, the Council will, as a condition of employment, make every reasonable effort to have deducted through Public Works and Government Services Canada, the amount equal to membership dues from the monthly pay of all employees in the bargaining unit covered by this Agreement.

9.02     The Professional Institute shall inform the Council in writing of the authorized monthly deduction to be checked off for each employee as defined in clause 9.01.

9.03     For the purpose of applying clause 9.01, deductions from pay for each employee in respect of each month will start with the first full month of employment or membership to the extent that earnings are available. Where an employee does not have sufficient earnings in respect of any month to permit deductions, the Council shall not be obligated to make these deductions from subsequent salary.

9.04     An employee who satisfies the Professional Institute to the extent that he or she declares in an affidavit filed with the Professional Institute that he/she is a member of a religious organization registered pursuant to the Income Tax Act, whose doctrine prevents him/her as a matter of conscience from making financial contributions to an employee organization and that he/she will make contributions to a charitable organization as defined in the Income Tax Act equal to membership dues shall not be subject to this Article, provided that the affidavit submitted by the employee shows the registered number of the religious organization and is countersigned by an official representative of the religious organization involved. A copy of the affidavit will be provided to the Professional Institute.

9.05     It is understood that the amounts deducted in accordance with clause 9.01 shall be remitted by cheque to the Professional Institute by Public Works and Government Services Canada within a reasonable period of time after deductions are made and shall be accompanied by particulars identifying each employee and the deductions made on his/her behalf.

9.06     The Council agrees to make every reasonable effort to continue, on the basis of production of appropriate documentation, the past practice of having deductions made for other purposes through Public Works and Government Services Canada.

9.07     For the duration of this Agreement, no employee organization, as defined in Section 2 of the Public Service Labour Relations Act, other than the Professional Institute, shall be permitted to have membership dues and/or other monies deducted by the Council from the pay of employees in the bargaining unit.

9.08     The Professional Institute agrees to indemnify and save the Council harmless against any claim or liability arising out of the application of this Article except for any claim or liability arising out of an error committed by the Council.

ARTICLE 10 – HOURS OF WORK

10.01   The normal work week shall be thirty-seven decimal five (37.5) hours, and the normal daily hours of work shall be seven decimal five (7.5). These hours may be varied at the Council’s discretion to allow for summer and winter hours provided that the annual total is 1950 hours.

10.02   The normal work week shall be Monday through Friday and the normal work day shall be scheduled between 7:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

10.03   Provided that operational requirements are met and after successful consultation between representatives of the Council and representatives of the employees, employees may work according to a system of flexible hours between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on the understanding that such flexible hours will be subject to the provisions of clause 10.01 above.

10.04   An employee shall be granted two (2) consecutive days of rest during each seven (7) day period.

10.05   Employees will report their attendance in a manner prescribed by the Council.

10.06   Compressed Work Week

(a)     The Council and the Institute hereby agree that employees may work on a compressed work week schedule subject to the provisions of this clause.

(b)     The implementation of a compressed work week schedule will require the mutual agreement of the Council and the employee(s) in the workplace affected.

(c)     Where there is no mutual agreement to implement a compressed work week schedule, hours of work will be scheduled in accordance with the Hours of Work article.

(d)     The implementation of a compressed work week schedule shall not result in any additional overtime work or additional payment by reason only of such variation in hours.

(e)     All operational requirements identified by management will be met.

(f)     For purposes of earned leave credits or other leave entitlements, a day shall be equal to seven decimal five (7.5) hours.

(g)     A designated paid holiday shall account for seven decimal five (7.5) hours.

(h)     The implementation of a compressed work week shall not be deemed to prohibit the right of the Council to schedule any hours of work permitted by the terms of the collective agreement.

(i)      Where a period of vacation, sick or other leave (except Bereavement Leave) is granted, it will be granted on an hourly basis with the hours debited for each day of leave being the same as the hours the employee would normally have been scheduled to work on that day. For the purpose of Bereavement Leave With Pay, a “day” will be a twenty‑four (24) hour period.

ARTICLE 11 – OVERTIME

11.01   In this group of clauses,

“Overtime” means work performed by an employee with the prior knowledge and prior approval of an authorized officer of the Council in the employee’s Portfolio/Branch/IRAP, in excess and outside of the employee’s scheduled hours of work, but excludes time worked on a designated holiday.

11.02   Subject to its operational requirements the Council shall make every reasonable effort

(a)        to allocate overtime work on an equitable basis among the readily available qualified employees, and

(b)        to give employees who are required to work overtime as much advance notice as possible of this requirement, preferably not less than twelve (12) hours’ advance notice.

11.03   An employee who is required by the Council to work overtime on his/her normally scheduled work day is entitled to compensation at time and one-half (1½) for all hours of overtime worked.

11.04

(a) An employee shall receive overtime compensation for earned credits by means of payment by cheque, which will be issued as soon as practicable after the first day of the month following the month during which the overtime was worked, or upon request of an employee, and with the approval of the Council, receive compensatory leave in lieu of monetary payment.  Such leave with pay will be computed at the same premium rate as if the overtime had been compensated monetarily.

(b) Consistent with operational requirements and subject to adequate advance notice by the employee, the Council shall grant compensatory leave at times that are mutually acceptable to the employee and to the Council.

(c) Compensatory leave credits earned in a fiscal year and outstanding on September 30 of the following fiscal year, will be liquidated by means of payment to the employee on the basis of one (1) hour’s pay at straight-time rate for each hour of compensatory leave credit so liquidated.

Compensatory leave credits liquidated under clauses 11.09, 11.10 and 11.11 shall be liquidated in accordance with the provisions of this clause.

11.05   An employee who is required to work on his/her day of rest is entitled to overtime compensation as follows:

(a)        at the rate of time and one-half (1 1/2) for each of the first seven decimal five (7.5) hours of overtime worked by the employee, and double (2) time for each hour of overtime worked by the employee thereafter on that day, except that;

(b)        on the employee’s second and subsequent d