October 7, 2002
Oct. 10 payday: expect some confusion
Finally. Almost all OPSEU members in the OPS will get their retroactive pay Oct. 10, Management Board says.
Don’t expect it to be simple. Rumours are flying that pay stubs may not state clearly how the money is being paid out. Different payments may be lumped together in the same cost code. Check your pay stub! Make sure you are receiving the correct pay. To do that, you need to know what you’re entitled
to. Here’s a guide:
1. General wage increase. All bargaining unit employees are entitled to a General Wage Increase of 3.5 per cent under Articles UN16.1 and COR16.1. Under pressure from OPSEU, the employer paid out some of this money on the Aug. 1 and Sept. 12 paycheques. You should already have received this
3.5 per cent up to Aug. 18. You are still owed an extra 3.5 per cent of gross pay from Aug. 18 to the end of the period covered by the Oct. 10 pay cheques. That is four weeks, from Aug. 19 to Sept. 15. To find out what you’re owed, multiply the gross amount on your previous paycheque by 3.5 per cent. Multiply this number by two (for the two
pay periods). Add this number to your previous gross pay.
NOTE: OPSEU has grieved that the various smaller amounts that make up the 3.5 per cent should be compounded, and therefore slightly higher. The employer disagrees. A grievance win by OPSEU would result in a future payout of the difference.
2. Extra one per cent for those at the top of the pay range. If you are not in the Corrections Category, and you have been at the top of your pay range for at least 12 months, Article UN16.2.1 says you are owed an extra one per cent of gross pay. If you see a code on your pay stub that
says “MXM,” it is for this payment. The one per cent is compounded on top of the 3.5 per cent General Wage Increase.
This payment should be made automatically if you were already eligible for it on Jan. 1, 2002. In this case, to calculate what you are owed, you have to figure out how much the 3.5 per cent is for the entire year up to Sept. 15. This does not include the period of the strike (March 13 - May 5),
unless you provided essential or emergency services, in which case it includes the hours you worked during the strike. Add this number to your total gross pay for the year up to Sept. 15. Then, multiply this number by 0.01 to calculate the amount of this payment.
NOTE: This payment may not be paid out automatically if you were not already at the top of your pay range on Jan. 1, 2002. If you became eligible after Jan. 1, it will be calculated based on the time since you became eligible. If you are at the top of your pay range, and not in the
Corrections category, and are a seasonal or on-call employee, MBS says your case is more complicated and must be handled manually. If you are eligible, you are entitled to this money. Make sure you get it. The Shared Services Bureau has posted a Q&A about the top-of-grid payments on the Intranet at
http://intra.ssb.gov.on.ca/myssb/published.nsf
3. Extra five per cent for Corrections category members at the top of the pay range. If you are in the Corrections Category, and are at the top of your pay range, Article COR16.1.c. says you are eligible for an extra five per cent on top of your gross pay. The first chunk of this was paid out
on Sept. 12 for the period up to Aug. 18. You are now owed it for the period from Aug. 19 to Sept. 15 (four weeks/two paycheques). This amount is compounded on top of the General Wage Increase.
4. Six per cent pay in lieu of benefits for unclassified employees. All unclassified employees are entitled to pay in lieu of benefits equal to six per cent of gross pay for all hours worked since May 5, 2002. If you are a full-time unclassified, this is a four per cent increase from the two
per cent you had before. If you are a part-time unclassified, this is a six per cent increase from the zero you had before. This amount is compounded on top of other payments listed above for which you are eligible.
5. Special case payments. If your job classification is entitled to a “special case” adjustment, that amount is applied before all the other payments listed above, for which you are eligible. They are compounded on top of your special case.
NOTE: The one special case payment Management Board says will not be on the Oct. 10 paycheques is the one for members at the Ontario Clean Water Agency who complete and maintain a facility operator’s licence. MBS says this payment will appear on the Oct. 24 cheques.
6. Shift premiums. Shift workers in the Unified Bargaining Unit are entitled to a shift premium of 78 cents an hour. This is up from 52 cents for evenings and 62 cents for nights in the previous agreement. This is retroactive to May 5, 2002. That means you get an extra 26 cents an hour for
evenings and 16 cents an hour for nights worked since ratification.
“What if my pay is wrong?”
If your Oct. 10 paycheque does not pay you the right amount, or if your pay stub does not clearly show how the amount was arrived at, ask your human resources manager for clarification. If a problem is detected, ask that it be fixed immediately. If that doesn’t work, you are entitled to file a
grievance stating that you have not received the proper compensation to which you are entitled under the collective agreement.
“What about interest?”
It is OPSEU’s position that all employees covered by our OPS contract are owed interest on their money that has been withheld for far too long. This issue is before the Grievance Settlement Board.
Original authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, President
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