The Devil in the Details: Finding and Exorcising Incorrect Labour Relations Language
March 4, 2024
This short essay was first published in our spring 2024 Voice newsletter.
This is one of those situations where an eye for detail greatly helped a group of our members. Thanks to FSA members that sit on the Institute Placement Committee, along with the FSA Labour Relations team, a legacy error restricting the initial placement of some Tech Staff was recently identified and redressed. The error placed an unnecessary restriction on the earnings of these members, violating recently agreed-upon Collective Agreement language.
The error has its roots in changes to our contract that were established in the second most recent round of bargaining. Prior to the signing of the BCIT/FSA 2019-22 Collective Agreement, contract language existed limiting the initial placement of Tech Staff to certain barriers, which were removed in the 2019-22 Collective Agreement. Recently, however, FSA members on the Institute Placement Committee noticed that the barriers mistakenly remained on the Tech Staff Placement form, a legacy of the previous contract: “The maximum step that may be granted upon initial placement is 6, 11, and 15 respectively.”
The members brought this to the attention of our FSA Labour Relations team, who was able to trace the history of the problem and communicate it to the employer. After some back and forth, BCIT addressed the situation resulting in several FSA members receiving retroactive step increases. As well, the Tech Staff Placement form has been corrected on the BCIT HR website.
If you find yourself sitting on a Tech Staff selection committee, please ensure you are not using the old, incorrect forms.
This is also a great time to remind all members of any FSA Department selection committees:
- to carefully check language on placement in the Collective Agreement, do not rely solely on the forms
- to contact the FSA if you have any questions or concerns
- to let new staff members know that they can dispute their initial placement during their first six months of employment
- above all, to remember that initial placement is the responsibility of the selection committee, not BCIT management.
One broader lesson is that the Collective Agreement is a document that may have a presence in many places throughout the Institute… and Union. Just as the work of the Union includes upholding the Collective Agreement in between bargaining, so too do we all need to be vigilant and look for errors that may arise. If you think that your Collective Agreement rights are being violated, please get in touch. Visit the contact page on our website for more information on how to do so.