March 16, 2021 TMM
GSU has filed an executive grievance challenging Richardson Pioneer over the denial of sick leave benefits to employees age 65 or older.
The grievance was filed with company representatives on March 10 and a grievance meeting will be held on April 8 or 9.
“Paid sick leave has always been an important benefit and should be available to every employee regardless of age or other restrictive criteria,” said GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner. “In my opinion, denial of sick leave on the basis of age is a violation of the “no discrimination” provisions of the collective agreement as well as human rights legislation.”
“GSU will present its position to Company management at the April grievance meeting and I’m hopeful that we can sort this out relatively quickly,” Wagner said. “If the matter isn’t resolved through the grievance procedure, arbitration is the next stage.”
Updates will be reported as the grievance moves forward.
An inquiry from a member of Local 14 (Richardson Pioneer) led GSU to dig into the issue of paid sick leave benefits for employees who are age 65 or older.
“Our position is that anyone who continues working under a GSU collective agreement that provides for paid sick leave benefits should have access to the benefits regardless of age,” said GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner. “In this instance there is some old language about sick leave payments not continuing past normal retirement age, but there isn’t a normal retirement age any longer and there hasn’t been one for years.”
GSU has raised this matter with the employer and will be pursuing grievance action if the matter cannot be resolved through discussion. GSU is also reviewing other employers’ policies to determine whether the same issue is present elsewhere.
Identifying problems as soon as they arise benefits everyone. Contact GSU when you think there is a problem to be fixed.