Vol 2, Décembre 2023
Journal l'Impact
Welcome to the 2nd edition of The Impact! I would like to begin by thanking my predecessor Yan Lanthier for starting The Impact and the work he did as our Vice-President of communications. I would also like to thank him for his help getting me up to speed in my new role as the Vice-President of communications and lastly, congratulate him on his new role as General Vice-President of STTRRC. We’re in good hands! I would also like to congratulate the executive committee members in their new roles, with a special mention to Jean-Daniel Savard who was elected as Vice-President of Training on November 30th. Like me, he is a new face on the executive committee and I wish him the best of luck!
Since this will be the last Impact of the year, I would like to take the opportunity to wish all of you and your families a merry Christmas and holiday season. It has been quite a year, and I hope you all get a chance to put any thoughts of work aside and enjoy your time off with family, and loved ones and come back in the new year refreshed and ready to take on any challenge 2024 puts in front of us!
In closing, if you have any questions or comments regarding information/communication, do not hesitate to come see me or contact me at mario.golek@csn-rrc.ca
Mario Golek
Vice-President Communications
STTRRC-CSN
Message from the President of STTRRC-CSN
Hello dear members,
I would like to begin this message from the President by thanking you for the vote of confidence you showed us during the last elections. Your executive team will be in place for the next three years to represent you well. I would like to congratulate the two new members of the committee, Mario Golek and Jean-Daniel Savard, who will strengthen our group with their experience and expertise. I am very proud to have the chance to work with them in order to provide a service to members worthy of the STTRRC-CSN.
With the year 2023 drawing to a close, I sincerely hope that you will take advantage of the holiday break to rest well and spend quality time with your family and loved ones. The year 2024 will be an important year in terms of asserting our rights to grievances, especially in relation to the disputes we have incurred with RRC following the return-to-work protocol after the lockout. I invite you to read the Shop Committee report section of this newsletter in order to learn about the upcoming grievances which will be heard by an arbitrator of the administrative labor tribunal. Hoping that you will enjoy this second edition of the union newsletter The Impact.
Good reading!
Your President,
Richard Dufour
President
STTRRC-CSN
Message from the General Vice-President STTRRC-CSN
As you have probably seen on the union bulletin boards, I will now hold the position of General Vice-President of the STTRRC. My motivation for accepting this position is simply to help our Executive serve all our members as best as possible and to lend Richard a helping hand when needed.
My previous position as VP Information will be taken over by Mario Golek. He will now take care of The Impact newsletter! I am confident he will do an excellent job. Thank you all for your trust. I wish you a wonderful Holiday Season with your family, friends and loved ones!
Yan Lanthier
General Vice-President
STTRRC-CSN
Message from the Treasurer
On the STTRRC-CSN Treasury side, the finances are being looked at closely. The surveillance committee, composed of Steeve Mayer, Alain Pérusse and Éric Boivin, met on October 2, 2023 to review the transactions from January to August 2023. The rest of the work for the year will be carried out in January 2024. The final report for the 2023 financial year will be presented at the next general assembly at the end of January 2024. The budget was respected in the majority of budget items. Speaking of the budget, the budget for the year 2024 will be presented at this same general meeting in January. It must then be ratified by the members. I’m looking forward to seeing you all there!
Sylvain “Billy Bob” David
Treasurer
STTRRC-CSN
Message from the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Committee
Health and safety at work is essential in companies, not only to prevent physical risks, but also psychological risks. The OHS team carries out prevention, inspection of premises, identification of sources of danger, assisting workers in exercising their rights and several other functions present in article 90 of the law, LSST. It is essential to know that if you are the victim of a work accident, an occupational injury or even psychological or physical harassment, it is important to communicate with your OHS representative, Maxime Pineault or with his team who are; Sylvain Gélinas, Annie Rivard and Gérard Séhounhouedo. In addition, we have several CNESST cases, which are in dispute before the Administrative Labour Tribunal (T.A.T.). Two weeks ago, one of these cases was won hands down thanks to the help and advice of our CSN defense prosecutor. Don’t wait until you get hurt before taking action.
Your OHS committee
Message from your Support Team
Our support team can be of invaluable assistance to colleagues experiencing psychological distress or experiencing psychological health problems, alcoholism or drug addiction, domestic violence and also when returning to work. The team is concerned about quality of life, mutual aid and solidarity between colleagues. They will be attentive and listen to others and they know the institutional and community resources. Anything you mention or disclose to them will be confidential. Respect and listening sum up your team well. Several people have been able to use our support to get better and use the necessary resources that we can give them. Mutual support at work is important and the most important thing is to listen to others. Never give up when we can help each other.
Also, your union is collaborating with professors Mélanie Dufour-Poirier (School of Industrial Relations, University of Montreal) and Jean-Paul Dautel (Department of Industrial Relations, University of Quebec in Outaouais) within a research project involving strategies for preventing occupational health hazards carried out by unions in the aerospace sector. Mélanie and Jean-Paul will come and present their project and the steps associated with it at the next general meeting on January 29, 2024. They will be happy to answer your questions and hope to see you there in large numbers!
Your Support Team
Report from the Shop Committee
Note: All texts all text in red are updates to the grievances from volume 1 of The Impact.
Grievance 21-008:
- The employer refuses to partially close its facilities and forces employees to work on December 30 and 31, 2020. Article 6.02 of the collective agreement considers these two additional days of leave not worked and describes the method of compensation. (Awaiting the supreme court’s decision on the employer’s challenge to initial arbitration decision 2468) Judicial appeal in February 2024.
Grievance 22-013:
- On March 15, 2022, through a letter posted and sent to our members, the employer declared that it was locking out the employees of the bargaining unit. As a result, they indicate that group insurance coverage will be suspended during the lockout. This violates article 27.03 of the collective agreement which stipulates that the conditions and terms contained in this collective agreement will continue to apply until the signing of the new collective agreement. An arbitration date has been set for January 16, 2024.
Grievance 22-018 and Grievance 23-010:
- We are contesting the calculation of annual vacation pay established according to the parameters of article 10.09 of the collective agreement, concerning employees with more than three (3) weeks of vacation and who were absent due to illness or parental leave. This is discrimination under the Quebec Charter. – Awaiting arbitration dates. Discussions are taking place between the union advisor and the company lawyer.
Grievance 22-019:
- The employer refuses to respect the return-to-work protocol, as duly negotiated in good faith between the parties, with regard to the notion of seniority and length of service during the labour dispute, with regard to the pension plan. An arbitration date has been set for March 26, 2024.
Grievance 23-002:
- The employer does not respect the terms of the collective agreement by forcing employees who are not leadhands to perform leadhand tasks. An arbitration date has been set for March 6, 2024.
Grievance 23-004:
- In accordance with our collective agreement, in particular article 23.03, we are contesting the position of the employer as indicated in the letter dated January 30, 2023, of not respecting the terms relating to employee participation during an absence. An arbitration date has been set for May 7, 2024.
Grievance 23-009:
- As the collective agreement stipulates (reference to the ministry’s recommendation), we are contesting the employer’s decision to refuse to pay its contribution to the retirement plan, as provided for in article 23.01 a) (10%) retroactively to March 22, 2020. An arbitration date has been set for February 21, 2025.
Grievance 23-016:
- The Union affirms that employees on sickness (insurance), CNESST, SAAQ, maternity leave, paternity leave or parental leave, even if they missed considerable working time or even if they did not work in 2021,2022 and the following years should receive the corporate bonus in full and not in proportion to the number of hours worked during the year. This results from the fact that these workers are protected by article 10 of the Quebec Charter and that they cannot be discriminated against on the basis of a disability or their marital status. An arbitrator has been selected. Dates to follow.
Grievance 23-020:
- Contestation of the employer’s decision to have work carried out by employees of the bargaining unit (stationary machine operators) by people who are not covered by the accreditation certificate. An arbitration date has been set for December 13, 2024.
Grievance 23-022:
- The union contests the employer’s poor application of article 11.04. The employer fails to send details of the position to all employees by internal email upon posting. An extension of deadlines was accepted by the union and the company until January 19, 2024.
Grievance 23-024:
- The Employer refuses to comply with the collective agreement which requires it to open overtime to all employees interested in compensating for the additional days off for the holiday season in 2023. A notice of arbitration was sent to the company.
- 14 member grievances at different stages.
Your Shop Committee
STTRRC-CSN
Message from the Secretary-Archivist
Role of your committees
Executive
Administration of union affairs, such as budget, implementation of union council decisions, communications, committee training, legal authorizations…
Union Council
Supports, modifies and votes on decisions made by the Executive Committee.
The Council is made up of the following committees: Executive Committee, Shop Stewards, Health & Safety Committee, Pension Committee and Negotiating Committee.
Shop
Ensures compliance with the collective agreement. Drafts grievances and handles labour relations with the employer. The committee brings grievances before a labour arbitrator if a settlement cannot be found internally.
Health and safety
→ First point of contact if you have a workplace accident
Participates with the employer in the identification and assessment of risks present in the workplace in order to prevent accidents. Investigates events that have caused or could have caused a work accident or occupational disease, then submits recommendations to the employer and the CNESST.
Pension
Ensures, in conjunction with the employer, that pension plans are properly managed.
Surveillance
Reviews revenues, expenses and cash flow reports. Members of this committee cannot be members of the union council; they must be independent of it.
Negotiation
Negotiates the collective agreement with the employer according to the requests and needs of the members. After the negotiation period, this committee becomes the labour relations committee which meets with the employer on a quarterly basis to review the collective agreement and propose modifying it if necessary. If so, union members will have to vote on these changes.
Insurance
Helps interpret the insurance plan. Can review the file in the event of a dispute with Sun Life and explain members’ rights.
Shop Stewards
Communicate information received at union council meetings to members. Act as a resource person in the event of a dispute with a supervisor.
Support Team
Listen to members who are experiencing personal difficulties (family, health, addiction, debt, etc.) and direct them to the appropriate resources.
Training
Participates with the employer to establish needs and set up training programs. Follows up on training, develops the evaluation process and reviews the content and results of exams.
For our new members and for those who aren’t sure how our union works, here are some examples:
- The executive team gets together once a month to discuss union affairs and make decisions.
- The union council is comprised of all union representatives and meets one week after the executive team meets to ratify decisions made by the executive. You are all welcome to join us but keep in mind that only union representatives are liberated for 2 hours. If you attend a union council meeting (1:30pm) your hours won’t be paid by the company,
- The shop committee meets RRC representatives once a week to discuss disputes related to the collective agreement.
- Our President, along with our VP- Shop Committee meet with Denis Giangi and the work relations representative on a monthly basis.
Yannick Ricard
Secretary-Archivist
STTRRC-CSN
Your union representatives
PENSION INFO!
Are you still eligible for the benefits provided by the FTQ Solidarity Fund or the CSN Action Fund? Contributors with a taxable income of more than $112,655 in 2022 will no longer be able to benefit from the 30% tax credits relating to a workers’ fund (15% in Quebec and 15% at the federal level) for any contributions made between January 1st and December 31, 2024.
Your eligibility is determined two tax years in advance, i.e. in 2022 for 2024. The amount of $112,655 in 2022 appears on line 299 of your Quebec income tax return.
This maximum taxable income will change each year. For your 2025 contributions, the maximum taxable income for 2023 will increase from $112,655 to $119,910.
Also note that you are no longer eligible for 30% credits after age 65. If you lose the right to tax credits relating to a workers’ fund and you continue to contribute to the Fonds FTQ through salary deduction, it is your responsibility to ask the employer’s payroll service to stop the remittance of tax deductions relating to this 30%.
Paul D’Amico
Pension Committee
STTRRC-CSN
Message from the Sunlife Parity Committee
Topics addressed to Sun Life during the joint committee meeting on October 20, 2023
Sleep apnea device
A prescription or new tests are required by Sun Life for the renewal of a sleep apnea device because the device is no longer an eligible expense for mild cases of sleep apnea. Renewal takes place every 60 months. It is possible that the participant’s health has improved and no longer requires a device. In January 2021, Sunlife made an administrative change related to reimbursement of expenses. In fact, they no longer reimburse continuous positive airway pressure devices for mild cases of sleep apnea. However, they continue to reimburse them for moderate or severe cases. This new practice is in line with industry practices and the guidelines of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH). They recommend changing lifestyles rather than using a continuous positive airway pressure device.
Retirees and RAMQ medication
We discovered that it was possible for pharmacists to bypass Telus systems and have the non reimbursed portion of RAMQ medications to be reimbursed. Our contract stipulates that at age 65 retirees are covered by RAMQ and that the medication portion not covered by RAMQ is not covered by your contract. Retirees were reimbursed in error. It was decided not to recover the amounts paid in error but we have corrected the structure to ensure that we no longer reimburse any RAMQ medication from the age of 65.
In solidarity,
Martin Sicard
Sunlife Parity Committee delegate
STTRRC – CSN
martin.sicard@csn-rrc.ca
REMINDERS
- For new members who have completed their probation, don’t forget to bring your RRPC pension plan enrollment documents, along with your Beneficiary designation document to the union office.
- The next General Assembly will be held on January 29, 2024. The presentation and adoption of the 2024 budget will be held.
FLASH NEWS!
- The Executive Committee elections took place last November. We would like to take the time to thank each and every one of you for the trust you have shown in us. We will work for your interests and your rights to the best of our capabilities for the next 3 years. At the same time, we would like to welcome Mario Golek and Jean-Daniel Savard to your executive committee. Their addition to our team is greatly appreciated.
- Did you know that there is a union youth school? It is three days of training, exchanges and networking between young people under 35 years old which takes place at the Centre de Villégiature Jouvence in Orford. Do not hesitate to contact us or go to https://csn.qc.ca/ecole/ for all the details.
- The francization committee is looking for candidates who would like to get involved in improving use of the French language on site.
- Did you know that during the last negotiations, we made a gain relating to days off for family obligations (family days). The first 2 days taken are now paid by the employer. (Article 9.02 (f))
- Once again this year, in anticipation of Christmas, your union will give gift cards to people on long-term disability to brighten up their holiday season.
- By now, you should have all received this year’s union gift. We hope you like the new STTRRC-CSN lunchbox! We would like to thank our sponsors, shown on the back of the lunch box for helping us fund your gifts! Here’s your union team working hard to assemble them!