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days until our Collective Agreement expires, we are preparing, we are united and we will make change.

WIP Delays In Adjudication Of Claims

Lisa Raymond on September 6, 2022

We the Board of Trustees would like to assure you the members that we are aware of the increased adjudication times for the Wage indemnity Plan due to the unprecedented volume of applications. These higher than usual numbers are due to the 7 day rule, the increase in member population and COVID-19.  The team at Manion has been working overtime hours to try and meet the increased volume and has commenced hiring of new staff to help reduce the wait times. To date we have exceeded the entire number of claims that were adjudicated in the 2019 year.

We want to inform members of a 3-4 week wait time to have your claim adjudicated from receipt of all the documents

Please ensure when applying that you utilize the packages by clicking here; fill in all documents; clearly sign and date, ensure that if there are clinical notes that your Dr. has attached them to the physician’s statement.

If you receive the auto response below from Manion please be aware that your documents are received and in the queue for registration and then adjudication. All items are logged with date and time. There is not a need to follow up with a phone call.

We are currently experiencing significantly higher than normal claim volumes. This has resulted in an extended time for us to review and communicate the status of your claim. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we work through this. Thank you for your email, your inquiry is important to us. This is an automated response to let you know that we have successfully received your e-mail.

If you are submitting your application for Disability benefits via e-mail, please scan your document(s) and then attach the file(s) to your email. Please ensure that your application is a true representation of the forms, there is no background/border, and all the wording is legible.

Our business hours are Monday – Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm Eastern Time.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we move forward through these next few months.

On behalf of your WIP Board of Trustees,

Patricia Eberley
Administrative Consultant

NOTE:  All Policy Booklet information can be accessed on the Air Canada Component of CUPE web site www.accomponent.ca.

Manion, Wilkins & Associates
Plan Administration
626-21 Four Seasons Place
Etobicoke, Ontario
M9B 0A6

Switchboard: 416-234-5044
Toll Free Line:  1-800-663-7849
Fax: 416-234-0127
Contact Centre: 1-866-532-8999

Labour Day – September 5, 2022

Lisa Raymond on September 4, 2022

We will be celebrating Labour Day on Monday September 5, 2022.  This holiday is an integral part of our society and is the last holiday weekend of the summer to spend time with family and friends before the dark days of fall and winter are upon us.

We would like to take some time to consider the real purpose of Labour Day and how it came to be. Over the years, its intent and meaning have evolved. This is largely since the Labour movement has made such great gains and improved the lives of Canadians at work and home.

Many Canadians enjoy paid holidays, safe workplaces, medical benefits, employment insurance, reasonable work schedules and hard-won Union wages.

Labour Day began in Canada on April 15, 1872. On that historic day the Toronto Trades Assembly, the original central labour body in Canada, organized the country’s first significant ‘workers demonstration.’ At the time trade unions were still illegal, and authorities still tried to repress them, even though laws against “criminal conspiracy” to disrupt trade unions had already been abolished in Britain.

The Toronto Trades Assembly emerged as a force to be reckoned with. It spoke out on behalf of working people, encouraged union organization, and acted as a strong advocate when workers were exploited. The event took on a life of its own due to the power it amassed and was one that authorities could not ignore.

Wherever and however, it is celebrated, its purpose remains the same. In the same spirit it began so many years ago, it remains a day that affirms the dignity and honour of working people everywhere. We ask that this Labour Day that we all pause to remember how far we have come and where we are going. There is still much work to be done and we will continue to remember the sacrifices that our brothers and sister of the labour movement made to get us to where we are today.

Your Union believes in the true spirit of solidarity and that great strength lies in our ability to communicate and understand the struggles that our members experience each time they don their uniform and go to work. Armed with this knowledge and knowing that the membership is behind us, we go forward to negotiate and bargain hard for what is right and for what matters.

Whether you find yourself at home or at work on September 5th, we encourage you to remember this day and to commit to an ongoing goal of gathering and fostering solidarity for our great challenge that will come in 2025.  Together we can negotiate an unprecedented Collective Agreement. If we plant these seeds now and are all mindful of the work ahead, there is much that can be accomplished.

In solidarity,

Bargaining Update #2 – Re-Opener 2022

Lisa Raymond on September 3, 2022

Your Air Canada Component Executive met with the employer on August 22, 23 & 24, 2022 to continue discussions regarding the second bargaining re-opener in our current 10-year Collective Agreement.

Housekeeping Items
As promised, we are providing an update that involves what was discussed and where we are now.   The matters at hand on these dates were housekeeping items which are changes to the Collective Agreement that do not actually change the meaning or application of the language, but that fix typographical errors, or make the mutually agreed meaning clearer. This is helpful as the Collective Agreement is a document that evolves over time. It is important to fix these errors and ensure that it is clear to those who read it.

Notice Items
In addition to housekeeping items there were notice items presented to each party from the other. This is done when either party would like to change existing practices that do not align with the Collective Agreement and are inconsistent with the clear language of the Collective Agreement. Part of bargaining preparation includes a review of existing practices which are not consistent with the provisions of the Collective Agreement. If the Union or employer wish to change such practices, they would then put the other “on notice”. These items can be brought forward by the respective parties, and they would argue that the other is estopped from continuing the practice. Estoppel simply works on the principle of fairness. It isn’t fair for an employer to suddenly effect change when, through practice, words, or silence, they have led the Union to believe that a certain way of doing things will continue. There is a window of time during which the parties may serve notice that that they no longer intend to follow a practice which is not required or not consistent with the Collective Agreement. This window occurs at the time the parties are re-negotiating a Collective Agreement, as this gives the other party an opportunity to negotiate Collective Agreement provisions. There were notice items exchanged between the parties and discussion on these are continuing during our next bargaining session.

We will meet again with the employer on October 4, 5 & 6, 2022.

In solidarity,

Your ACCEX

Rouge Duty Overtime Premium

Lisa Raymond on September 2, 2022

In follow-up to our June 30, 2022 bulletin (by clicking here) on this matter, we are here to report that Arbitrator Vince Ready has provided a supplemental award regarding the Rouge Duty Overtime Premium.

In the initial Interest Arbitration award, the following language was awarded:

L55.07.06 Whenever an employee’s duty period is extended past 14 hours, and the employee did not self-impose the extension by changing a deadhead, the employee will be paid an additional $100 for every additional hour the duty period is extended.

The above premium in no way prevents an employee from taking crew rest as per article L55.15.01.04.

The Union’s interpretation of this article was that the minute your duty period extended beyond 14 hours, you would be entitled to $100 in compensation and a further $100 above 15 hours, and a further $100 above 16 hours etc.

The Company took a different interpretation in that you must work a full additional hour beyond 14 hours before being eligible for the additional $100 in compensation. In their interpretation, if your duty day was extended to 14:59, there would be no requirement to provide any compensation as you did not reach 15 hours.

Both Parties submitted detailed written submissions.

The Company initially took the position that the Arbitrator didn’t have jurisdiction to clarify his award, and that his initial award was clear and unambiguous. Alternatively, they took the position that if the overtime premium was to be triggered at 14 hours it should be prorated and not trigger a full $100 the minute you go beyond 14 hours. It also requested that a maximum cap be introduced as the Employer notes that a duty period in the high 20’s or low 30-hour range are “highly probable”.

Arbitrator Ready issued a supplemental award last night amending the awarded language as follows:

L55.07.06 Whenever an employee’s duty period is extended past 14 hours, and the employee did not self-impose the extension by changing a deadhead, the employee will be paid an additional $100 for every additional hour or part thereof the duty period is extended up to a maximum of $300 per occurrence.

The above premium in no way prevents an employee from taking crew rest as per article L55.15.01.04.

The resulting clarification is a bit of a mixed bag. We are happy that the arbitrator upheld the Union’s interpretation that the overtime premium is triggered at 14 hours and that he did not introduce the Employer’s request for proration. However, he did introduce a cap of $300 so that there is no additional premium once your duty period extends beyond 16 hours. This is disappointing as the initial award did not include such a cap. However, with no additional compensation for a further duty day extension it should empower our Rouge members to book crew rest as soon as a duty period is projected to exceed 17 hours as per L55.15.01.04.

A full copy of the supplemental award can be accessed (by clicking here). We will now discuss with the Company the implementation of this amended language and its retroactivity. We hope to provide a further update shortly.

In solidarity,

Your ACCEX

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