Whiteshell Professional Employees Group (WPEG) – Collective Agreement – PIPSC

The purpose of this Agreement is to establish and maintain a harmonious and mutually beneficial working relationship between the parties. In administering this Agreement, we will work together and exhibit mutual trust, understanding, sincerity, and co-operation. Should differences or misunderstandings occur, we will resolve them promptly through full and open discussions within the terms of our dispute resolution process.

We support and encourage policies and practices that reflect our commitment to: a safe, efficient and competitive world class nuclear science and technology business for the maximum benefit of Canada; professional excellence, employee job satisfaction and career development; fair and competitive terms and conditions of employment; employment equity; continuous improvement in quality and efficiency; and a safe and healthy working environment which is free from harassment and discrimination and which recognizes the full worth and integrity of all employees.

ARTICLE 1 – RECOGNITION

1.01 The Employer recognizes the Institute as the exclusive bargaining agent for the bargaining unit comprised of all professional employees of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Whiteshell, performing engineering or scientific work for the Whiteshell establishment, excluding casual employees and all persons at the organizational level of branch manager or above, as described in the certificate issued by the Canada Labour Relations Board dated February 14, 1996.

1.02 The parties recognize that amendments to the terms and conditions of employment shall be by mutual consent.

1.03 The Company and the Institute agree that “students”, “casual employees”, “contract personnel” and “attached staff”, as defined in Article 7 (Non-Continuing Professional Personnel) shall not be included in the bargaining unit.

1.04 The parties recognize this Collective Agreement as outlining the terms and conditions of employment. Any additional monetary compensation shall only be provided through written consent of the Institute.

ARTICLE 2 – RESERVATION OF MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

2.01 The Institute acknowledges that it is the responsibility of the Company, subject to the provisions of this Agreement, to:

(a) Maintain order, discipline and efficiency and, to this end, make and alter from time to time the rules and regulations to be observed by employees;

(b) Hire, discharge, transfer, promote, demote, suspend, lay off, or discipline employees;

(c) Generally manage the enterprise in which the Company is engaged and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, determine: the research, development and production programs and schedules; staffing and facilities; the methods, systems and processes to be used; and the control of all equipment, materials and facilities used.

ARTICLE 3 – LEGISLATION AND EMPLOYEE RIGHTS

3.01 Conflict with Legislation

Should any provision of this Agreement be found to be in conflict with an applicable statute, then the parties shall meet and determine a satisfactory settlement of the provision in conformity with the statute. The remaining provisions of the Agreement shall continue to be operative and binding on both parties. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as an abridgement or restriction of any employee’s constitutional rights or of any right expressly conferred by an Act of the Parliament of Canada.

Discrimination and Harassment

3.02 There shall be no discrimination, interference, restriction, coercion, harassment, or intimidation exercised or practiced with respect to an employee by reason of age, race, creed, colour, national origin, religious affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, disability, conviction for which a pardon has been granted, marital status, family status, or membership or lawful activity in the Institute.

3.03 The Institute and the Company recognize the right of employees to work in an environment free from harassment and agree that harassment will not be tolerated in the workplace.

3.04 Picket Lines

The Company will not expect an employee to cross a picket line if to do so would place the employee’s life, limb or personal property in jeopardy.

3.05 Right to Representation

(a) Upon request an employee shall have the right to the presence of a Union representative at any meeting involving Return to Work or performance. The employee shall be responsible for arranging the presence of a Union representative.

(b) For matters which may result in discipline, the employee shall be advised in advance of the nature of the issue. The Company shall advise the President of WPEG with sufficient advance notice of the meeting to ensure the presence of an appropriate Union representative. The Company commits to providing the Union President, or designate, a minimum of 2 days’ advance notice of meetings involving union members which may lead to, or to administer corrective performance management. To the extent possible, advance notice will include the topic for discussion.

ARTICLE 4 – COMPANY RULES

4.01 The Company will make available to the President of the Whiteshell Professional Employees Group a copy of all General Notices and all Company Procedures and amendments thereto, affecting bargaining unit members.

4.02 New and revised Company Procedures that affect working conditions will be provided to WPEG ten (10) working days in advance of publication for discussion and, when issued, will be available by the Company through intranet.

4.03 The relevant provisions in Company Standard Policies and Procedures (SPP) referred to in this Agreement by number and date which are not in conflict with the provisions of this Agreement, shall remain in effect for the life of this Agreement unless otherwise mutually agreed. Should the Company revise one of these Standard Policies and Procedures during the life of this Agreement it may offer to apply the revised SPP to this Bargaining Unit.

ARTICLE 5 – NO STRIKE OR LOCKOUT

5.01 There shall be no strikes, walkouts, lockouts, slowdowns, or other similar interruptions of work during the term of this Agreement.

5.02 The definition of strike shall be that as laid down in Part I of the Canada Labour Code.

ARTICLE 6 – ESSENTIAL SERVICES

6.01 If at any time during, or after the termination of this agreement, the employees represented by the Institute should engage in a stoppage of work, the Institute and the Company will meet in advance to negotiate an agreement respecting the maintenance of essential services, such as protection of Company property and the preservation of public safety.

ARTICLE 7 – NON-CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL

7.01 Both parties recognize that situations may arise which result in peaking personnel demand, or requirements for special skills and expertise not otherwise available. No continuing full-time employee will be laid off where a Term, Short-term, Student, Casual employee, Contracted-In individual or Attached Staff with equivalent or similar skills, remains employed by the Company. Continuing employees will be provided a reasonable period of time to acquire necessary skills. Subject to the provisions of this Article, the Company may continue to utilize from time to time Non-Continuing Professional Personnel as defined in 7.02 and 7.03 below.

7.02 The following categories of persons are not members of the bargaining unit:

(a) A “student” is an employee who is hired on a part-time or short-term basis, either during the student’s normal vacation period or a work term to fulfill the student’s normal educational curriculum. A student who has completed or suspended the student’s course of training is excluded from this definition.

(b) “Casual employees” are those employees hired on a casual roster for a period of twelve (12) months and are only paid for actual days worked. Casual employees will be eligible for up to one month of continuous employment in this twelve (12) month period.

Contracted-In individuals are hired for a period of up to twelve (12) months’ duration who work under CNL management supervision, receiving day to day direction in what work and/or how to do the work and when it needs to be done, either at Whiteshell Laboratories or remote from the site.

Contracted-Out individuals are employed by and directed in their work by a 3^rd party company where CNL provides a scope of work that would normally be done by WPEG members in the form of a contract to receive a service or product, either at Whiteshell Laboratories or remote from the site.

(d) “Attached staff ‘ are employees of other CNL sites or other organizations who are on temporary assignment at Whiteshell Laboratories. This includes persons from parent organizations of CNEA, their subsidiary organizations or successors i.e. Reach back personnel.

Employment of Casual employees and Contracted-In individuals shall not be exceeded without agreement of the Institute. The Institute shall not unreasonably withhold agreement.

7.03 The following categories of persons are members of the bargaining unit:

(a) “Short-term employees” are employees hired to carry out term assignments of more than one (1) month but no more than six (6) months duration which require them to work full-time or regular part-time hours as stipulated in this Agreement, and who cease to be employed when the job for which they were hired has been completed. An employee in this category is a member of the bargaining unit and is covered by the provisions of this Agreement with the exception of pension coverage, long term disability coverage and dental coverage in accordance with RCW-2.05, “Part-Time, Short-Term and Student Employees (Salaried) – Benefit Programs”, dated 1987 April. An employee in this category whose term is extended beyond six (6) months becomes a “Term employee” as defined in (b) below.

(b) “Term employees” are employees hired to carry out special term assignments of more than six (6) months and up to twelve (12) month’s duration, or up to twenty-four (24) months in the case of Post-Doctoral Fellows, which require them to work full-time or regular part-time hours as stipulated by this Agreement, but who cease to be employed when the job for which they were hired has been completed. Any extension of the term beyond the applicable limit will be subject to Institute agreement, but no extension shall exceed twelve (12) months. Where a term extension does not adversely affect the job security of any continuing professional personnel with appropriate skills, the Institute shall not unreasonably withhold agreement.

(c) Full time employees may fulfill a temporary term assignment and then return to their previous position, when such a secondment can be operationally accommodated.

7.04 (a) It is the intention of the parties that Non-Continuing Professional Personnel shall not be used in place of a continuing position. To this end, the Company will notify, provide an explanation for, and participate in discussion with the President of the Whiteshell Professional Employees Group as follows:

(i) in advance of its intention to utilize casual, short-term, term and contract personnel; and

(ii) where attached staff from other CNL sites are to be assigned to Whiteshell Laboratories for periods of six (6) months or more.

(b) The Company will inform the Institute of the names of persons so employed each quarter.

7.05 A sequence of appointments of Non-Continuing Professional Personnel, including Researcher Emeritus as defined in Procedure CW-510100-PRO-327 Rev 1 “Appointment of Engineer/Researcher Emeritus”, but excluding contracted-out individuals, will not be used in place of a continuing position. Any appointment or sequence of appointments for a term of two (2) years or more will be immediately posted as a continuing position according to the internal competition provisions of Article 28 of this Agreement unless the parties agree otherwise. In the event the Company is unsuccessful in recruiting a qualified candidate, the Union will not unreasonably withhold an extension of up to 12 months for the Non-Continuing Professional Personnel.

7.06 Where casual, short-term, contract, term and attached professional personnel are utilized for specialized skills not available in the bargaining unit, the Company will facilitate the acquisition of these skills within the bargaining unit where the Company determines there is a sufficient continuing need for the skill involved.

7.07 Non-Continuing Professional Personnel utilized in accordance with this Article will cease to be employed when the specific duty or work term for which they were hired has been completed. Such individuals will be advised of the short-term nature of their employment.

7.08 The Whiteshell Professional Employees Group (WPEG) recognizes the employer’s need to engage contracted services from time-to-time, as outlined in Article 7 of the WPEG Collective Agreement. When engaging in discussion concerning the use of contracted staff, WPEG will be provided the following information from the employer for each proposed contract:

1. Explanation of the decision to use a contractor (in place of other options).

2. A general description of the work to be performed.

3. Intended start and end date of the contract, including the estimated number of labour-hours.

4. Identification of the responsible supervisor and manager.

5. Whether there is a continuing need for the skills/expertise provided by the contractor. If yes, a plan should be provided as to how the knowledge and skills will be transferred to a WPEG member for future assignment of the work.

6. The scope of knowledge transfer.

In cases of an extension to previous contract(s), the following additional information will also be sought.

7. Hours previously worked.

8. Progress on knowledge and skills transferred as per the plan identified in #5.

ARTICLE 8 – HOURS OF WORK

8.01 Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement, the week shall commence at 00:01 hours Sunday and extend to 00:01 hours the following Sunday. The day is a twenty-four (24) hour period commencing at 00:01 hours.

8.02 Shifts

Eight (8.0) Hour Shift (Day) – Five (5) Eight (8.0) hour shifts from Monday to Friday. Shifts will commence at 0730. In addition, each employee shall receive a thirty (30) minute unpaid lunch period.

Eight (8.0) Hour Shift (Evening) – Five (5) Eight (8.0) hour shifts from Monday to Friday including a one-half (1/2) hour paid lunch. Shifts will commence between 1500 hr and 1600hr to be determined upon ratification of all current WL collective agreements.

Ten (10) Hour Shift (Day) commencing between 0600 hr and 0700 hr to be determined upon ratification of all current WL collective agreements – Four (4) ten (10) hour shifts as assigned between Monday to Thursday. In addition, each employee shall receive a thirty (30) minute unpaid lunch period.

Ten (10) Hour Shift (Evening) commencing between 1530 hr and 1600 hr – Four (4) ten (10) hour shifts including a one-half (1/2) hour paid lunch as assigned between Monday and Thursday.

8.03 Assignment of Shifts

The parties recognize that the operation of certain branches or facilities may on occasion require a change in normal hours of work for a defined temporary period. In advance of any such requirement, management will consult with affected employees in the development of such a work schedule.

An employee that is reassigned to a different shift will be provided with a minimum of 4 weeks’ notice prior to the commencement of that shift unless the Parties agree otherwise.

Assignment to various shifts will be on a voluntary basis. Should it be necessary to assign staff to shifts as a result of insufficient volunteers, assignment will be based on a fair rotation of qualified individuals for each required position. Assignment to all shifts will be subject to knowledge, skills and abilities. Where possible a quarterly shift schedule of personnel will be provided to employees at least three months in advance of the start of the shift schedule.

Except for unforeseen, emergent situations, and planned Waste Management shipments, evening shifts are only anticipated for the Standpipes and ILW Bunkers projects.

Where required, shifts will be rotated on a 2 week basis.

ARTICLE 9 – FLEXIBLE WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

9.01 Principle

The Company and the Institute recognize that the interests of the Company and of employees may be served by promoting flexibility in work hours to accommodate changes in work requirements, peak work demands and varying personal needs.

It is understood that the nature of the work may prohibit the participation of some employees in alternative work schedules to ensure that safety or the overall efficiency of the site is not adversely affected.

9.02 Flexible Hours

Employees may request to reschedule the standard day as defined in Article 8.02 by up to two (2) hours subject to approval by supervision.

9.03 Banked Hours

Pursuant to the Hours of Work Memorandum of Agreement on Page 87 in addition to the normal work schedule, an employee may elect to bank hours to a maximum of eighty (80) hours as banked time. The accumulation of such banked hours must be on productive work with the prior approval of management, worked in minimum thirty (30) minute periods. Opportunities to accumulate banked time will not be unreasonably restricted.

9.04 While the scheduling of time off with pay covered by accumulated banked time is subject to Company approval, management shall make every effort to grant an employee’s request for time off and may only deny such a request where it conflicts with operational requirements.

9.05 Carry Over of Banked Hours

An employee may carry over a maximum of eighty (80) hours of banked time from one fiscal year to the next. It is the responsibility of the employee to consult with their manager to schedule opportunities to utilize the banked time. It is the responsibility of the manager to work with the employee’s schedule to allow the banked time to be used. If the manager is unwilling, or operationally unable, to allow the employee to utilize the time, any banked time in excess of seventy-five (75) hours remaining on March. 31^st will be paid out at the straight time rate .

Payment of banked time upon termination of employment shall be in accordance with Article 33 – Termination Compensation.

9.06 Telework

While it is understood employees’ normal place of work will be at the Whiteshell Laboratories, telework may be available to employees as per Standard Remote Working Arrangements 900-510000-STD-008 as approved by management on a case by case basis. Telework arrangements will not be unreasonably withheld.

ARTICLE 10 – OVERTIME

10.01 Principles

Management will not compel employees to use a time banking arrangement as a substitute for scheduled overtime. However, subject to clause 9.03, an employee who is entitled to monetary compensation under this Article for hours worked will have the option of crediting any or all of such hours to banked time at a straight time rate for actual hours worked, in lieu of overtime compensation for such hours.

10.02 Overtime Compensation

Where management directs an employee to work in excess of the normal hours of work, and operational requirements do not allow flexibility in the scheduling of these required hours, or an operationally urgent need arises and management approval is impractical to obtain, monetary compensation will be paid as follows:

(a) When the overtime period continues for at least one (1) hour beyond the employee’s normal work day, all overtime will be paid at the rate of time and one-half (1.5);

(b) Authorized overtime work in excess of ten (10) hours beyond the employee’s basic scheduled workweek shall be paid at the rate of double time. Scheduled hours worked at time and one-half (1.5) on Company Holidays do not constitute overtime. Overtime work on the second day of rest or Sunday will not be included for the purpose of accumulation of overtime in excess of 10 hours beyond the employees basic scheduled work week.

(i) time and one-half (1.5) for all time worked on the employee’s firs

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2018 Whiteshell Professional Employees Group Executive

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