Skilled Trades Ontario (Formerly) OCOT Collective Agreement

Congratulations to our comrades on the bargaining team, which included Local 503 members. They fought hard for a better collective agreement for all members, including a 12%+ wage increase, better benefits and important job protections.

For more information on what to expect from the new contract, or learn more about the process, please contact your steward or our general inbox.

• Read the previous (January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2018) collective agreement here.

OPS-Unified Collective Agreement

If you work in the public sector as part of a ministry, you are part of OPS-Unified and our bargaining team is currently in the process of negotiating our next collective agreement. Until a new agreement is ratified (voted on) by the membership, we are covered under the previous agreement (see below for your copy). It is important that you as a member have read through our current agreement and work with other local members to fill out the demand set for the next round so we get even stronger worker rights and protections. 

• Read the current (January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024) collective agreement here.

*physical copies available upon request

Return to Office Updates

There are options available to you and the employer. These agreements are limited based on operational requirements that are determined by manager discretion as covered under article 2, appendix 42 and other applicable articles. These “Alternate Work Agreements” include:

• Compressed Work Week Agreement (PDF)
• Flexible Work Agreement (PDF)
• EDITABLE: Telework Agreement (Word doc)
• Telework Agreement (PDF)
• Variable Hours Agreement (PDF)

These templates can be downloaded for use. Please cc your local executive members when filing these agreements, and contact us with any questions and concerns.

Given recent announcements by the employer, there is also a petition that members can sign regarding the Return to Office - Click here to sign or share your story.

LERC (Local Employee Relations Committees)

Identify 2-3 members per work location and per ministry that may be interested in participating and contact us with your information. From there, our local president and vice-president can email your manager and HR to initiate this. This is a great forum to try to deal with some of the issues and themes that impact members without having to file grievances.

Employee relations committees provide a structured forum for local Union and Management to discuss and resolve issues relevant to the workplace. A LERC is made up of management reps and OPSEU/SEFPO reps who are elected by the local.

• open up the lines of communication and enhance the Union-Management relationship.
• can be used to share information, discuss issues of mutual interest, and consult on matters of organizational, operational, or policy change.
• allow for full, fair, and timely consideration to be given to any views, recommendations, or concerns that a party might have.
• support shared goals that maintain and enhance a positive work environment.
• promote a climate of mutual respect, trust, and integrity.

Employee Relations Committees (ERCs) adhere to the Labour Relations Act and have been successfully established over many decades in workplaces across the OPS. The mandate of ERCs is to permit negotiations and discussion of matters of mutual interest to employees who are in the Bargaining Unit at the Local, Regional and Ministry levels.

• Matters that are the subject of an individual grievance are not generally dealt with by ERCs.
• Matters not resolved by a LERC or RERC may be referred to MERC at the request of either party.
• Matters should not be referred until all reasonable efforts have been made to resolve the issue at the local or regional level - MERCs may send the issue back to the LERC where this has not occurred.
• MERCs only discuss or negotiate those matters that have Ministry-wide implications; or that the LERC or RERC has been unable to resolve.
• Matters not resolved at MERC, despite reasonable efforts to do so, may be referred to CERC
• CERC has the mandate to discuss OPS-wide matters of interest between the parties along with matters unresolved at the Ministry level.
• All ERC resolutions must respect and comply with the rights and entitlements of the Collective Agreements.

There is free LERC training available - four workshops each year, which are spread over 6 Thursdays, two hours per session, offered through the employer. Contact [email protected].

Grievances

A grievance is a formal written complaint about a violation of employee rights under a collective agreement, submitted by employees through a union to the employer.

Grievances can cover issues like unfair treatment, improper disciplinary actions, withheld benefits, or other violations captured in any of the articles under our current collective agreement, and follow a defined process under article 22 [grievance procedure] with opportunities for resolution at various internal levels before potential escalation to arbitration.

Members of our local executive committee are here to help you navigate the process and to advocate on your behalf. Contact us if you have any questions or feel that you have a potential grievance to be filed.

Please check out the OPS Unified website for more updates.