Minutes of Understanding

BETWEEN:

The Ministry of Health

(hereinafter called “The Ministry”)

AND:

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union

(hereinafter called “the Union”)

and its Local 333

PREAMBLE

The purpose of this Minute of Understanding is to allow for local level agreement of matters within the scope of a Local Employee Relations Committee.  Authority to enter into this agreement is derived from Article 16 of the Collective Agreement.

ARTICLE 1 – MAKE-UP TIME

1.1          Approved short-term absences will be granted to individual employees for reasons acceptable to the employer, such as doctor appointments.  Such absences should not exceed four (4) hours per day up to a maximum of eight (8) hours per month.  Any time off not make up within one month will be deducted from the employee’s pay.

ARTICLE 2 – VACATION SCHEDULING

2.1          A maximum of 20% of all bargaining unit employees shall be allowed off work due to scheduled vacations at any given time.

2.2          Vacation scheduling shall be based on seniority.  An employee who wishes summer vacation (June 15^th to September 15^th) shall identify his/her preferred time slot(s) by March 31 of each year.  The employer shall post the approved summer schedule by the end of the first full week in April 1 of each year.  An employee who wishes winter vacation shall identify his/her preferred time slot(s) by September 30^th of each year.  The employer shall post the approved winter schedule by the end of the first full week in October of each year.

2.3          Vacation requests made outside of the approved scheduling periods indicated above will be approved based on availability on a first come basis.  When more than one request is received, seniority will take precedence.

2.4          Vacation granted must be taken unless written notification is given by the employee two weeks prior to the start of the vacation period.  Less notification will be considered on compassionate grounds.

2.5          Cancelled vacations would then be offered on across the unit and on a seniority basis.

2.6          A maximum of three weeks vacation will be granted to any one employee during the peak period of June 15^th to September 15^th.  Once all requests were addressed, if there were additional weeks available they would be offered across the unit on a seniority basis. Special requests of more than three weeks will be considered and accommodated wherever possible.

2.7          Requests for single vacation days from June 15^th to September 15^th will be at the discretion of the Employer.  Such requests shall not supersede requests for full weeks.

ARTICLE 3 – ACCESS TO PERSONNEL RECORDS

3.1          Corporate Personnel Records

                Where a corporate personnel file is maintained by the employer’s Head Office, the employer, on request by an employee, shall arrange to transport the file to Oshawa so that an employee may peruse his/her personnel file.  The employer shall provide the employee on request, a copy of any document in the file that the employee disputes should remain in the file.

ARTICLE 4 – TERM

4.1          The terms of this agreement shall be one (1) year and it shall be renewed automatically thereafter for periods of one (1) year unless either party gives notice of its desire to renegotiate the terms of this agreement during ninety (90) day period prior to the end of the one (1) year term.