A member contacted us with concerns that their increment date had been missed for a number of months. With permission from the member, staff rep Donna Driediger was able to contact company management and rectify the situation with retroactivity for the time missed.
Contacting GSU does not mean you are obligated to file a grievance. Sometimes just a brief phone call, email, or meeting is all that is needed to address a situation.
Contact your GSU staff rep to learn more.
Throughout July our GSU staff reps are busy checking in with members and distributing our new GSU masks.
If you haven’t already got one, it should be on its way to you soon. Can’t wait? Contact your GSU staff rep.
Instructions for your new mask are available below and in this printable PDF instruction sheet.
It’s frustrating when our plans are ruined by the weather. No one wants to go camping, fishing, or get their yard work done in excessive wind, rain, or extreme heat.
Imagine how stressful it would be if your income relied heavily on Saskatchewan’s unstable weather producing heat and moisture in the right form at the right times. With our unpredictable prairie weather, it’s no wonder calls to the Farm Stress line are increasing and more Saskatchewan farmers are seeking mental health support.
Additional help will be available to farmers soon.
Saskatoon-based technology company Bridges Health is working to create a new app that will compile resources and strategies to assist producers who are struggling with their own mental health.
Learn more, here:
This article has been printed for entertainment purposes. The views and opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of GSU, its members, officers, or staff.
Perhaps we’re socially conditioned to look the other way, but increasingly people around the world and in Canada are speaking out against a wide variety of injustices. Anti-racism protests and other public actions are chief among causes that more and more people are joining to lend their voices in support of systemic change.
GSU has always stood against racism at home and abroad, but we can all do more. No one is free from the corrosive effects of racism and while we can’t change the past, we can certainly change the present and the future. So let’s commit as individuals and as unions to do our part to demand real change in our communities, institutions and governments at all levels.
Everyone does better when EVERYONE does better.
All ballots received in GSU’s Regina office by 12:00 noon were counted by GSU Local 15 (Nutrien) bargaining committee members Lynn Shaw and Dale Markling. The vote was supervised by GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner and staff representative Steve Torgerson.
The members have soundly rejected the company’s final offer presented on June 5, 2020.
“77 percent of the ballots rejected the company’s final offer,” Shaw said. “The members have clearly told us the company’s proposal to eliminate our guarantees on sick leave, our pension plan, and paid leaves is not acceptable.”
“We have heard the members and will take direction from them,” Markling added. “We thank the members for their vote of confidence.”
“I will be serving Nutrien notice that their final offer has been rejected and we wish to get back to the bargaining table to try and find a resolution the members can accept,” Markling said. “The members want a settlement, but they are not prepared to give up the guarantees the collective agreement currently provides.”
After notice is served to Nutrien, it is GSU’s hope the parties can continue to meet and reach a tentative settlement to take to the members for a vote. Failing a negotiated settlement, either party is able to declare an impasse and request conciliation. If the conciliation fails to produce a settlement after the 60-day conciliation period, the parties would be in a legal strike or lock-out position following a two-week cooling off period.
This information was shared with Local 15 (Nutrien) members by email on July 3. If you are a Nutrien member and did not receive our email, you are not in our database. If you would like to be included in GSU emails, send your address to us at gsu@gsu.ca.
Covid-19 effectively wiped out our plans for our regular June membership meetings and member visitations, but GSU reps will be hitting the road in July to check in with members and drop off our new GSU masks.
Whether is it a socially-distanced chat in a parking lot or a check-in by video conference or phone, our reps will be in touch throughout July.
Jump the Queue! Give us a call
Don’t wait to hear from us. If you would like to talk to us sooner than later and you have a date and time that work for you and your co-workers, give your GSU staff rep a call.
Local 5 members were invited to participate in a conference call membership meeting on the morning of June 30. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the company’s request to continue a wage rollback for an additional three months before reinstating regular wages.
Members have until 3:30 p.m. June 30 to vote on whether to accept or reject the company’s request.
Normally at this time of year GSU representatives would be conducting a series of workplace visits and holding membership meetings in GSU’s Locals and Sub-Locals. COVID-19 public health guidelines and workplace safety measures have altered our traditional approach to union membership meetings and other representation work.
“Not everyone is comfortable with the same approach so we are trying to tailor things to meet local needs,” said GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner. “The work we do on behalf of GSU members has not let up and we constantly try to adjust to new circumstances. In the meantime, we are available to answer any questions, complaints, or need for assistance.”
GSU representatives are communicating with union members and officers to discuss how best to address contact work during the pandemic.
The following email was sent to Local 15 members on June 25.
TO: GSU Local 15 (Nutrien) members
FROM: Dale Markling – Local 15 bargaining committee spokesperson
This is our last reminder to cast your vote and mail your ballots back to the GSU office. If you haven’t already voted, we urge you to get your ballots in the mail as quickly as possible. The ballots must be in the GSU Regina office by noon on Friday, July 3. REMEMBER: July 1 is a statutory holiday and this may delay the mail slightly.
Notification of the results will be sent to members on July 3 using the email addresses we have on file for you. The results of the vote will also be posted on GSU’s website.
Thank you for your participation in this very important vote.
| A Local 8 policy grievance challenging the length of layoff notice that was given to six employees by Advance Tank Production Ltd. has been referred to arbitration. |
At the end of April, Advance Tank Production issued a mass layoff notice to its work force in response to economic conditions in the oil sector and the COVID-19 pandemic. AEA/GSU Local 8 took issue with the length of layoff notice given to six employees and argued they were entitled to eight weeks’ notice or pay in lieu. Discussions during the grievance procedure were not successful in resolving the disagreement and the grievance was referred to arbitration. An arbitrator remains to be selected and dates for hearing will follow.
“While this grievance has been referred to arbitration, we continue to communicate with the employer in an effort to resolve the disagreement,” said GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner.
In the May 26 Tuesday Members’ Memo general secretary Hugh Wagner reported on discussions between Viterra and GSU about the allocation of time to GSU members who use the personal family leave provision (Article 13.9 of the collective agreements ). Specifically, if a member claiming the leave works a modified shift (e.g. 13.3 hours per shift), are they to be paid equivalent time for each day of paid personal family leave (maximum three paid days)?
After receiving comments from Local 1 and 2 members, Wagner followed up with Viterra HR and advises that members claiming paid personal family leave, as provided in GSU’s collective agreements with the employer, will be paid for the number of hours they would have worked if not absent on leave.
“It is important to bear in mind that this provision of the collective agreements with Viterra draws on employees’ accumulated sick leave and it covers the wages lost by the employee just as if they were absent from work on sick leave,” Wagner said. “I appreciate the input received from members on this subject. It helped clarify and resolve the discussion with management.”
Personal Family Leave in GSU Local 1 (Viterra Ops/Maintenance) and Local 2 (Viterra Office) – what are your thoughts?
By Hugh Wagner – May 27, 2020
A new addition to the current collective agreements between GSU and Viterra was personal family leave as provided in section 13.9 of Article 13 – Leaves of Absence.
The new section provides that employees are allowed to take up to five days of personal family leave and provided they have at least three months of continuous service the first three days of leave will be with pay and will be applied against the employee’s accrued sick leave credits. Section 13.9 of the collective agreement goes on to describe circumstances in which personal family leave applies as well as control measures.
This new feature of the collective agreements with Viterra was an important step forward in the struggle to balance work with family responsibilities. However, as with many new things, there are some wrinkles to sort out.
For example, an employee who works a modified work week of 13.3 hours per shift and takes three days to attend a matter covered by personal family leave. Should they be paid for 39.9 hours which are charged to their sick leave bank? Or should the employee receive 24 hours’ pay for the three days and have to make up the rest of the time from some other pool?
I think the employee should be paid as if they were at work, which would mean three days at 13.3 hours per day in this example. We’re in discussions with Viterra HR to make sure the system works fairly for union members. We’ll report on the results of our discussions once we’ve worked things out, but in the meantime we’d like Local 1 and 2 members to let us know what they think on the subject. Drop us a note by email to gsu@gsu.ca.
Hugh Wagner is GSU’s general secretary and spokesperson for the Local 1 and 2 bargaining committees who negotiated the current collective agreements in these two locals. You can reach Hugh at Hugh@gsu.ca or 306.536.3414.
In early May, the Broadbent Institute commissioned Abacus Data to conduct a national public opinion survey to explore the kind of recovery Canadians want after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey found that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread anxiety and concern for Canadians across the country. As they look ahead to the economic recovery, most are looking for a bold and ambitious recovery.
The survey was conducted online with 2,280 Canadians aged 18 and over from May 1 to 6, 2020.
View the survey and complete results here: Abacus Data: What Kind of Recovery?
The Union and Company are trying to set up some dates to resume negotiations and work out the logistics of how the negotiations are conducted in our new COVID-19 reality.
Members will be advised when dates are set.
Bargaining committee members representing GSU Local 5 are Sharlene Tetrault, Michelle Houlden, and GSU staff rep/bargaining spokesperson Dale Markling.