In the 2022-2025 Facilities Subsector Collective Agreement, HEU and the Health Employers Association of British Columbia agreed to establish a joint-working group to develop a set of principles to guide the interpretation and application of special leave for Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) members experiencing serious household or domestic emergencies as outlined in Article 30.01 (3) of the current collective agreement.
This was the result of several bargaining proposals regarding special leave being submitted by HEU members through their locals. The FBA bargaining committee made this a priority to address in the last round of bargaining.
Over the past year, the working group met monthly to establish the principles for interpreting this special leave provision. The work included a review of past decisions by arbitrators on matters related to Article 30.01(3). The parties identified key themes from previous arbitration decisions such as:
- How much information is needed to determine whether special leave is granted or denied.
- What meaning have arbitrators given to the collective agreement wording contained in Article 30.01(3).
- How arbitrators have deliberated on fact patterns relating to situations that constitute an emergency versus the situations that do not.
- How arbitrators have contemplated and reinforced that each special leave request must be considered on its own merits. For example, pre-scheduled appointments do not automatically result in a denial of the leave request. All aspects of the circumstances for the request must be considered.
Developed with members in mind, these principles are intended to serve as a guide for servicing representatives, shop stewards and employers in resolving grievances. Secondly, they also provide more clarity that will reduce misunderstandings or disagreements in the grievance process.
HEU representatives and dedicated shop stewards are receiving a full briefing on this agreement and a detailed outline of the agreement. This will include a full joint principles and interpretation document, to be shared with HEU local executives and all shop stewards covered by the FBA collective agreement.