This is an archive of news stories and research from the National Union of Public and General Employees. Please see our new site - https://nupge.ca - for the most current information.
OPSEU says success achieved after 'long and tedious process' dating back to 2003.
Toronto (1 Feb. 2010) - Canadian Blood Services and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) have signed pay equity plans worth approximately $8 million for employees represented by the union at the agency.
Negotiations began in 2003 for each of the four bargaining units that OPSEU represents. They are the Provincial Support Unit (Locals 160, 210, 477 and 5103), the Lab Services Unit (Locals 210 and 5101), the Plasma Unit (Local 716) and the NCC (Local 619) in Sudbury.
A gender-neutral job evaluation process was used to evaluate nearly 100 different jobs. It was a long and tedious process taking several years to complete.
Each Pay Equity Plan covers a different period of time. Collectively, they cover a period of more than a decade, dating from 1998 to 2009 and include a provision for lump-sum payments.
Retroactive payouts will be paid out in two allocations this year, the first on March 31 and the second by Dec. 31. Both male and female incumbents, past and present, are entitled to retroactive payouts if they worked in any previously underpaid female jobs as described in the pay equity plans.
Representatives from each of the four bargaining units worked as a joint committee with employer representatives to complete the pay equity process.
The representatives include Brenda Thompson (Local 210), Sara LeClair (Local 619), Allison McTaggart (Local 619), Shirley Johnny (Local 210), Katherine Zan-Payne (Local 160), Gwen Rosenfield (Local 5101), Nancy Moffat (Local 210), Sean Allen (Local 477), Janet Seymour (Local 5103), Corine Magnusson (Local 5103), Susan Fuchihara (Local 716) and Jenni Hartviksen (Local 716) along with negotiator Ann Wallace.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE