Recently, MUNFA won a significant arbitration award relating to the Interpretation of Appendix K of the previous Collective Agreement. This award means the union won 48 steps for the impacted members.
The parties (MUNFA and the Employer) were in dispute whether the amount of the Gender Equity Fund established by Appendix K of “one million dollars ($1,000,000) in total”, is inclusive or exclusive of Employer payroll costs.
Appendix K contained an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding a Gender Equity Find of one-million dollars to address gender-based inequities in total salary for women ASMs compared to their counterparts. The fund was to be administered by a Joint Gender Equity Salary Adjustment Committee (JGESAC).
The JGESAC was established and determined that,
“The Gender Equity Fund is to be distributed as Steps. With the current Step Value of $2142, the Fund translates to 466 steps.”
However, the employer argued that they incurred costs involved in the implementation of the recommendations of the JGESAC. As a result, the Employer determined that they would only make 415 steps available for allocation to cover costs. Ultimately, 418 steps were allocated ($895,356). This effectively reduced the salary increases initially established by the JGESAC by 12%. The Union filed a grievance on this matter in 2021 arguing that the full one-million dollars should go to ASMs.
The arbitration hearing was held on May 3, 2024 and the award was given on July 8, 2024.
The award can be found HERE
The arbitrator ruled that the Union’s grievance be allowed:
“The Arbitration Board declares that the Gender Equity Fund in Appendix K of $1,000,000 in total does not include the Employer’s costs. The Board upholds the decision of the Joint Gender Equity Salary Adjustment Committee, to assign the total amount of the Fund as salary adjustments to female ASMs, in particular, by assigning the total amount of 466 steps, effective July 1, 2021. The University is directed to implement the decision of the Committee.”
This is a major win for the members of our union.
