OPG-PWU Ratification – Questions

OPG approached the PWU with a proposal to extend the current Collective Agreement by 1 year, with a 1% wage increase, as restricted by law (Bill 124). After the Union was able to negotiate improvements to the Offer it was decided by the elected Chief Stewards at OPG to put the Offer to the members for a democratic vote.   Negotiated improvements in addition to the 1 % pay increase include, but are not limited to:  

1. Improved employment security provisions for Regular Employees that will take us to April 1, 2022. Currently, the units are scheduled to cease operation in 2024. We are hopeful that the CNSC will approve extended operations to 2025 as proposed by OPG but that has not happened yet and is not guaranteed.
2. Improved access to vacancies for all PWU members.
3. Improved access to most likely scenarios for Pickering closure layoff modelling to be made available well in advance of 2022 bargaining.
4. An additional day off during the term of the Collective Agreement for all Regular Employees.
5. Health and dental benefit assistance for Term Employees with 3 or more years of service
6. Agreement that OPG will not force a bargaining impasse prior to the election in 2022. Pushing bargaining to impasse before the election could expose PWU members to unnecessary Bill 124 risks.

Due to the many uncertainties created by the current pandemic including the inability to negotiate in-person, the uncertainties regarding OPG plans, that still require CNSC approval, to defer the closure date of Pickering to 2025, the negative impacts of Bill 124 on collective bargaining, and the next provincial election scheduled for June, 2022, the Union felt this option deserved serious consideration and a vote of the membership.   We do not believe the membership would have preferred that the Union withheld an opportunity to vote on an Offer that improves employment security, and includes only improvements and no take-aways, when it is very possible that this approach could produce the best result achievable in the circumstances.

By a secret ballot vote, 16 Chief Stewards voted in favour of sending the OPG Offer to the members for their vote, 5 Chief Stewards opposed sending the OPG Offer to the members for their vote, and 2 Chief Stewards abstained/did not vote.

Yes, you will receive both, 0.8 % on Feb 1, 2021 as part of the 2018-1021 Collective Agreement, and if accepted, 1.0 % on April 1, 2021 as per the new 1-year Collective Agreement.

The 2 increases in a 2-month period are not a contradiction to Bill 124. The 3-year Bill 124 “moderation period” limiting increases to 1 % per year does not begin until the 2018-2021 Agreement expires on March 31, 2021 because the 2018-2021 Collective Agreement had been finalized before Bill 124 came into effect in 2019.

If you search “Inflation Calculator 2020 CPI” and Inflation Rates you will see that the last published figures at the time the Summary was written were for October 2020 and show a 0.0% annual inflation rate for the past year.

We do not know what the inflation rate will be next year and pointed out in the lead-in to the Summary that the annual inflation rate becomes less predictable in a longer-term agreement.

We put the inflation number in as a reference point – not as a justification for a 1% increase. It is the government that imposed, through Bill 124, a limit of 1 percent to monetary increases. The PWU remains very much opposed to that legislation. It is being challenged for its constitutionality in the courts. Unfortunately, that legal process is expected to take years to complete

The improvements to the Collective Agreement that are itemized in the Offer were negotiated utilizing a combination of small face to face and Microsoft Teams meetings.

It is expected that normal face to face negotiations would be possible for the subsequent round of bargaining that would begin in early 2022.

The heading “Not to be Reproduced in the Collective Agreement” means that, even though the language in the Offer is legally binding on the company and can be enforced through the grievance procedure in the Collective Agreement, the actual language will not be printed in the Collective Agreement.

Yes, if modelling shows that attrition will cause an ongoing shortfall in any particular classifications after Pickering closure, the PWU will push get those Regular positions posted. That is one of the reasons Item #4 in the Offer is so important for 2022 bargaining preparation. “Within six months of the ratification of this Collective Agreement, OPG will provide detailed estimates of the numbers of Regular Employees, by classification and work location, to be laid off in the most likely plant closure scenarios including Article 11 modelling for each.

At such time, the parties also commit to discuss the Article 11 process as it relates to PECO and any potential changes, including limitations to turnover, that could be made to better serve the interests of the parties.”

This language will help us to have informed discussions during the 2022 round of bargaining on mitigating the need for layoffs.

If the Offer is accepted, $2.50 will be added to the total wage package to subsidize the health and welfare benefits of Term Employees who have been employed for greater than 3 years of continuous service. That will mean an increase in the member’s base rate and vacation/statutory holiday pay. Premiums for health and welfare coverage will continue to be deducted from the member’s total wage package and remitted to the benefits provider.

If the Offer is accepted by the members, the bargaining submissions received for 2021 bargaining will be reviewed by the Bargaining Committee for inclusion in 2022 Collective Bargaining. Members will also have the opportunity to submit additional bargaining submissions for 2022 bargaining.

All Regular employees will be provided one additional day off with pay between April 1, 2021 and April 1, 2022 to attend to COVID 19 related issues and no evidence is to be requested by management. This additional day will be provided in a manner similar to vacation days.