lt'j. Kwlk Lok Collective Agreement BETWEEN: Kwik Lok Limited (Hereinafter referred to as the "Employer") OF THE FIRST PART -and-

Transcription

1 \ D Collective Agreement BETWEEN: Kwik Lok Limited (Hereinafter referred to as the "Employer") OF THE FIRST PART lt'j. Kwlk Lok -and- S.E.I.U., Local 2, Brewery, General & Professional Workers' Union (Hereinafter referred to as the "Union") OF THE SECOND PART October 1., to September 30, 201.3

2 INDEX Article ARTICLE1 ARTICLE 2 ARTICLE 3 ARTICLE4 ARTICLE 5 ARTICLE 6 ARTICLE 7 ARTICLE 8 ARTICLE9 ARTICLE10 ARTICLE 11 ARTICLE 12 ARTICLE13 ARTICLE 14 ARTICLE15 ARTICLE16 ARTICLE 17 ARTICLE18 ARTICLE19 ARTICLE20 ARTICLE 21 ARTICLE 22 ARTICLE 23 ARTICLE24 ARTICLE 25 ARTICLE26 ARTICLE 27 ARTICLE28 Description Page PURPOSE AND RELATIONSHIP... 1 RECOGNITION... 1 RELATIONSHIP... 2 UNION REPRESENTATION... 2 MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS... 5 NO DISCRIMINATION... 5 STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS... 6 SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCES... 6 ARBITRATION... 8 DISCHARGE AND TERMINATION WAGES AND JOB CLASSIFICATIONS HOURS OF WORK PYRAMIDING WORKING PRACTICES STATUTORY HOLIDAYS VACATIONS SENIORITY LEAVES OF ABSENCE PERSONAL STATUS CHANGE SAFETY COMMITTEE RETIREMENT LAYOFF AND RECALL BULLETIN BOARDS AND BOOT ALLOWANCE COMPANY ORGANIZATION INSURANCE PLANS REGISTERED RETIREMENT PLANS JURY DUTY AND CROWN WITNESS DURATION SCHEDULE 'A' -WAGE RATES AND CLASSIFICATIONS SCHEDULE "B" LETTERS OF UNDERSTANDING... 33

3 ARTICLE 1- PURPOSE AND RELATIONSHIP 1.01 The purpose of this Agreement is to aid in maintaining a harmonious relationship between the Company and its employees. The Company and the Union agree that there will be no intimidation, discrimination, interference, restraint or coercion exercised or practised by either of them or their representatives or members because of an employee's membership. ARTICLE 2 - RECOGNITION 2.01 The Company recognizes the Union as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all of its employees at Cambridge, Ontario, save and except foremen, persons above the rank of foreman, sales, office and clerical staff, and students employed during the school vacation period. Students may be hired for a temporary term from May 1 to Labour Day. If there is lay offs, it is understood that the students shall be laid off first The word 'employees' or 'employee' wherever used in this Agreement shall mean only the employees in the bargaining unit as defined above The Company agrees to supply the Union with names, classifications and departments of all present employees covered by this Agreement, and of all new employees covered by this Agreement within one week of the commencement of their employment Where masculine pronouns are used in this Agreement, they should be construed to mean masculine and feminine employees. Wherever the Agreement refers to the singular it shall be deemed to include the plural unless the context requires otherwise. lipage

4 ARTICLE 3 - RELATIONSHIP There will be no solicitation for membership or other Union activities during Company time except as permitted by this Agreement. ARTICLE 4- UNION REPRESENTATION The Union agrees to furnish the Company with the names of its duly elected officers and representatives appointed to perform any act connected with the carrying out of this Agreement and undertakes to notify the Company promptly of any change in the membership of its officers or appointed representatives. The Company will not be obliged to recognize any Union representative until such time as written notice authorizing the employee to represent the Union has been received by the Company To represent the employees the Union may elect or appoint one steward for each twenty-five employees to facilitate the carrying out of this Agreement. The parties agree that the minimum number of stewards will be two, one of whom will represent the day shift employees and one of whom will represent the afternoon shift employees. The Union shall designate one of its stewards to be the chief steward It is understood that the Union Committee Members and stewards have their regular work to perform and that if it is necessary to investigate and process grievances or employees' complaints during working hours, a Union Committee Member or steward will not leave his work without first obtaining the permission of his immediate supervisor, which permission shall not be unreasonably withheld, and he shall report again to him at the time of his return to work It is agreed that there will be no deduction from the pay of Union officers or stewards for time spent while meeting with representatives of the Company during such Union Committee Members' regularly scheduled working hours or while dealing with complaints and/or grievances during such Union Committee Members' or stewards' regularly scheduled working hours, provided Union officers or stewards will not be paid for time spent engaged 21Page

5 in handling grievances beyond the second step or with respect to arbitrations. The Chief Steward or the Union's designate shall be paid for the negotiation of the Collective Agreement up to and Including conciliation As a condition of employment, all employees in the bargaining unit must become and remain members in good standing of the Union 4.06 (a) The Employer shall deduct from each employee included in the bargaining unit an amount equal to the normal monthly dues as prescribed by the Secretary-Treasurer of the Union and, where appropriate, Union initiation fees. (b) Deductions shall be made at each regular pay period, and shall be held in trust by the Employer and forwarded to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Union, by cheque, together with a detailed list of such deductions, no later than the 15th day of the month following the pay periods for which the deductions were made. (c) Electronic Information Remittance Upon request the Employer shall furnish electronically to the Union (in Excel format), the name, mailing address, address, telephone number, and applicable dues remittance of each employee covered under the respective SEIU Local 2 BGPWU bargaining unit(s) as follows: Employee I First )last I Address I Address I CityjTown I Province! Postal! Home I Mobile I Number Name Name 1 2 Code Telephone The Employer shall also furnish electronically to the Union (in Excel format) all updates/changes regarding names, addresses, s and/or phone numbers of employees in SEIU Local 2 BGPWU bargaining units. Unless otherwise instructed by the Secretary-Treasurer of the Union, these informational changes shall be forwarded as they occur to: dues@seiulocal2.ca 3IPage

6 With each dues remittance the Employer will provide the following information electronically (in Excel format) to the Union with its dues remittance. Dues for month of: Employee Number Dues Amount Submitted 4.07 The Union agrees to indemnify and hold the Employer harmless with respect to suits, claims, actions or proceedings commenced against the Employer by reason of the deductions of dues and other payments provided for herein The Employer will indicate the amount of Union dues paid by employees on their T-4 slips It is mutually agreed that upon commencement of employment, all new employees will be advised of the existence of the Union and the Collective Agreement. The Company will schedule a fifteen (15) minute meeting with the Chief Steward and the new employee within the first two (2) weeks of employment. The Union will be advised in writing of the names and addresses of all new employees upon their successful completion of probation. The Employer will in each year, in the first week of January, provide the Union office a complete list of names, addresses and phone numbers for its bargaining unit employees The Treasurer of the Union shall advise the Employer in writing as to the amount of monthly dues, and initiation fees and any changes thereto The Company will give written notice of the names of new employees hired, terminated, or resigned to the Union at the same time as the remittance of the Union dues Neither the Union, nor any of its members in the bargaining unit, will engage in Union activities during working hours or hold meetings at any time on the premises of the Company without the permission of the Company. 4jPage

7 4.13 Authorized Union representatives not employed by the Company may confer with Union officers within the plant if permission is first obtained from the Manager. The Company will not unreasonably withhold such permission. ARTICLE 5 - MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS 5.01 Subject only to the express provisions of this Agreement, the Union acknowledges that it is exclusively the function of the Company to: (a) Maintain order, discipline and efficiency; (b) Hire, retire, discharge, classify, direct, transfer, promote, demote, lay-off and suspend or otherwise discipline employees, subject to an employee's right to lodge a grievance as herein provided. Employees who have completed the probationary period will not be disciplined or discharged without just cause; (c) Generally to manage the industrial enterprise in which the Company is engaged and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, to determine the products to be manufactured, methods and techniques of work, the content of jobs, schedules of work, kinds and locations of machines and tools to be used, process of manufacturing, the engineering and design of its products, the control of materials and parts to be incorporated in the products produced, to determine the number of personnel to be required from time to time, and also to determine the extension, limitation, curtailment, or cessation of operations and all other matters concerning the Company's operations not otherwise specifically dealt with elsewhere in this Agreement. ARTICLE 6 - NO DISCRIMINATION 6.01 Both parties agree that there will be no discrimination, interference, restraint or coercion exercised or practiced by either of them, or their representatives or members because of an employee's membership or non-membership in the Union. The 5I Page

8 Employer and the Union agree to abide by the provisions of the Ontario Human Rights Code. ARTICLE 7 -STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS 7.01 The Company agrees that there will be no lockout of the employees during the term of this Agreement, and the Union agrees that there will be no strike, slowdown, sit down or other action which will interfere with work or production. ARTICLE 8 -SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCES 8.01 Should any misunderstanding or controversy arise between the Company and the Union as to the compliance of either party with any of its obligations hereunder or should there be any grievance involving the interpretation, application or violation of the provisions of this Agreement by an employee or group of employees or the Union or the Company, the same shall be handled in the following manner Step 1 - If an employee has a complaint or grievance, he and a steward, shall discuss it with his immediate supervisor within five working days after the circumstances giving rise to the complaint have originated or occurred. Failing settlement, a grievance may be lodged by the employee within five working days following the reply of the immediate supervisor, which must come within five working days following the complaint or grievance Step 2 - If the grievance is not settled at the preceding step, the grievor and a steward shall take the matter up with the General Manager or his delegate within five working days of the immediate supervisor's answer. The General Manager or his delegate shall meet with the Union Committee within five working days after the receipt of such grievance to attempt to settle the grievance. The General Manager or his delegate shall give his written disposition within five working days of the date of such meeting. Within thirty days of receipt of the General Manager's decision at Step 2 the Union may refer the grievance to arbitration. 6IPage

9 8.04 No grievance shall be considered which has not been carried through the steps of the Grievance Procedure within the various time limits unless the Company and the Union otherwise agree in writing A Saturday, Sunday, a statutory holiday within the meaning of this Agreement, or an aggrieved employee's day off shall be excluded in computing the time limits within which a step is taken under the Grievance Procedure of this Agreement Misunderstanding or controversy as referred to in Article 8.01 arising between the Company and the Union which may be considered as policy matters shall be reduced to writing and commence at Step 2 of the Grievance Procedure Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that the Company wishes to present a grievance, it shall be reduced to writing and presented to a steward and a steward and representatives of management shall meet to discuss such grievance within ten working days of its presentation. Failing resolution of such grievance within ten working days of such meeting, either party may refer the grievance to arbitration providing such reference is made within thirty working days of the expiration of the last mentioned ten working day period The Company or the Union may have such counsel or other assistance present as they may desire when grievances are taken up under Step 2 of this Article or a grievance handled under Article The times specified in Articles 8 and 9 may at any time, whether before or after the event, be extended or abridged by mutual consent of the Company and the Union. Such consent shall be expressed in writing and shall specify the alteration agreed to Disciplinary notations will be removed from the employee's file and will not be referred to after eighteen (18) months provided that the employee's record has been discipline free for the said eighteen (18). Thus, it is intended that as soon as an employee completes eighteen (18) discipline free months all prior disciplinary notations will be removed from the employee's file and will not be referred to. 71Page

10 ARTICLE 9 - ARBITRATION 9.01 When notice of intent to arbitrate is received by either party, the parties shall confer as to the choice of a mutually acceptable single arbitrator. In the event that they are unable to agree within a period of two weeks from the time that the notice to arbitrate is received, either party may request the Office of Arbitration of the Ministry of Labour to appoint an arbitrator. Either party may, within five days of the reference to arbitration request that the matter be heard by a three-man Arbitration Board and, if so, it shall make such request in writing, addressed to the other party to this Agreement, and at the same time nominate an arbitrator. Within fourteen days thereafter, the other party shall nominate an arbitrator provided, however, that if such party fails to nominate an arbitrator as herein required, the Minister of Labour for the Province of Ontario shall have power to effect such appointment upon application thereto by the party invoking arbitration procedure. The two arbitrators so nominated shall attempt to select by agreement a chairman of the arbitration board. If they are unable to agree upon such a chairman within a period of fourteen days, they shall then request the Minister of Labour for the Province of Ontario to appoint an impartial chairman No person may be appointed as an arbitrator who has been involved in an attempt to negotiate or settle the grievance, except where the parties agree to Mediation/Arbitration No matter may be submitted to arbitration which has not been properly carried through all requisite steps of the Grievance Procedure The arbitration board shall not be authorized to make any decision inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, nor to alter, modify, add to or amend any part of this Agreement The proceedings of the arbitration board will be expedited by the parties hereto and the decision of the majority, and where there is no majority, the decision of the chairman, will be final and binding upon the parties hereto and the employee or employees concerned. 8IPage

11 9.06 Each of the parties hereto will bear the fees and expenses of the arbitrator appointed by it and the parties will jointly bear the fees and expenses of the chairman of the arbitration board. ARTICLE 10 - DISCHARGE AND TERMINATION A claim by an employee who has completed his probationary period that he has been unjustly discharged shall be treated as a grievance if a written statement of such grievance is lodged with the Company at Step No. 2 within five (5) working days after the discharge is effected The Company agrees to permit a discharged employee the opportunity of meeting with a steward, if available, for up to fifteen minutes before leaving the Plant All non-probationary employees terminating their employment are expected to give two weeks notice in writing. There shall be no liability upon the Union if an employee fails to give such notice In the event of a grievance concerning discipline imposed on an employee, the Company will provide the Union on its request with a copy of the employee's prior disciplinary record No employee will be formally disciplined except in the presence of a Union steward provided that a steward is on shift Non-probationary employee who is discharged for just cause and not reinstated pursuant to the grievance and arbitration procedure shall not be entitled to severance pay. ARTICLE 11- WAGES AND JOB CLASSIFICATIONS All employees covered by this Agreement shall, subject to the other provisions of this Agreement, be classified and paid according to the classifications and wage rate schedule attached to this Agreement as Schedule "A". 9IPage

12 1:1..02 (a) Subject to Article an employee transferred to a higher or lower rated job shall be paid the higher rate for the hours worked in such job. (b) An employee who has been temporarily transferred to a higher rated job and then is transferred back to his regular job shall thereupon be paid at his regular rate When an employee is transferred to a lower rated job because of inability to perform the job, or on request, then the lower rate of pay shall apply immediately. When an employee is transferred to a lower rated job by the Company because of lack of work on his regular posted job, he shall receive his regular rate for a period of six weeks from the date of such transfer, and thereafter shall receive the rate applicable to the lower rated job In the event that the Company should establish any new job classification or should significantly vary the skills required for the performance of any existing job classifications, the Company and the Union shall agree on an appropriate rate for such new or varied classification commensurate with the rate structure established by this Agreement. In the event of failure to agree on a rate, the Company shall set a rate and the employee assigned to such classification shall perform the work required at such rate and he may, or the Union may, require that the rate be finally determined by means of the Grievance Procedure commencing at Step No. 2. ARTICLE 12 - HOURS OF WORK (a) Eight hours shall constitute the basic working day for all employees. Forty hours per week shall constitute the basic working week. (b) Ten (10) hours per shift will constitute the basic working day for the afternoon shift. Four (4) days per week, Monday to Thursday will constitute the basic work week for the afternoon shift. IO!Page

13 (c) The basic day and week are stated as a guide only and shall not be construed as a guarantee of any minimum. The parties have agreed that in cases of absence due to vacation or illness the Company may require extruder operators and lead extruder operators to work twelve hour shifts for a reasonable period of time. (d) The pay period shall be from Sunday to Saturday each week. (e) The employer shall provide for 16 hours off between shifts on normally scheduled shifts except by mutual agreement of the employee and employer and as per (d) and (c) above Time and one-half shall be paid for all work performed in excess of a scheduled eight (8) or scheduled ten (10) hour shift and/or after forty (40) hours in any one week (a) Time and one-half shall be paid for all work performed on a statutory holiday as defined in Article 15 with the exception of any hours worked as a portion of a regularly scheduled shift. (b) Double time shall be paid for all work performed on Sundays with the exception of any hours worked as a portion of a regularly scheduled shift For the purpose of calculating overtime hours any employee who is entitled to statutory holiday pay or was on lay-off or was away on vacation leave will be given credit for the number of regular hours he would have worked and was not paid for had he not been on leave and overtime will be paid for all hours so calculated in any week during the days Sunday through Saturday inclusive exceeding forty hours (a) Overtime following on from a regular shift will normally be performed by the employee performing the work during the regu Ia r shift. (b) Scheduled overtime on a separate shift will normally be performed by those employees normally performing the work during regular shifts. llipage

14 (c) The Company shall make every reasonable effort to attempt to divide overtime equitably among the employees normally performing the work. (d) The Company will, whenever possible, provide adequate notice for overtime, of up to two hours, it being understood that there will be occasions when the Company could not reasonably have known in advance of the need for overtime and that in such instances lack of notice will not be a reason for refusing to work such overtime. (e) If an employee is off ill or on vacation, it is the responsibility of the employee to notify the company that they are available for OT on the weekend. (f) An employee may bank up to 60 hours of overtime pay per contract (September 30, to October 1) year to be taken and paid as a week, single days or multiples thereof.off when; (i) The employee notifies the company at the time the overtime is offered that they wish to bank the time in lieu of pay (ii) The time can not be carried over to the next contract year (iii) The time off will be at the discretion and approval of the company and mutually agreed to by the employee On regular shifts the Company will provide at least a half-hour unpaid lunch period With the exception of the Lead Extruder Operator and the Extruder Operator all employees will be allowed two paid fifteen-minute rest periods in each shift It is agreed that the present practices of the Company with respect to the calculation of hours of work and rates of pay shall continue unless specifically modified by this Agreement (a) An employee who reports for work at his regular starting time and for whom there is no work available of the type regularly performed by him, shall be given four hours employment at 121 Page

15 other work designated by the Company and paid for at his straight time rate, or, if there is no other work available, shall be paid the equivalent of four hours wages at his straight time rate, or unless the unavailability of work is due to a labour dispute, fire, electrical failure, flood, failure of water supply, failure of other utility supply, major mechanical failure, Act of God, or unavailability of raw or packaging materials, for reasons beyond the control of the Company or other conditions beyond the control of the Company, or in the case of an employee returning to work after an absence who has not given the Company reasonable notice of his intended return. (b) If an employee is called in for overtime he will receive a minimum two hours of work or pay at one and one-half times his regular rate for a period of two hours or at double his/her regular rate for a period of two hours if called in on Sunday All employees will work steady day, afternoon or midnight shifts to be assigned on the following basis: (a) Each employee may designate, on ratification of this Agreement, their preferred shift. (b) The Company will determine, from time to time, the numbers of employees within any job classification to be assigned to the day and afternoon shifts. It will make this determination for valid business reasons and in good faith, and according to Article 22 and agrees to make every reasonable effort to assign as many employees as possible on the day shift. (c) In making shift assignments the Company will endeavour to assign employees to their preferred shifts. Where the Company cannot fill its shift requirements from among employees on the basis of the employees shift preference, it will first attempt to fill the assignment with volunteers, failing which it will assign the most junior of the employees for whom the shift is not a preferred one, provided that the most junior such employee is capable of performing the work available. (d) For the purposes of administering this clause the Union Chief Steward will be deemed to have top seniority within his job classification. 13IPage

16 12.11 Afternoon shifts are defined as shifts that commence on or after 11:30 a.m. Night shifts are defined as shifts that commence on or after 11:00 p.m An employee who changes from one shift to another in the course of a week shall be paid at the rate of one and one half times his normal rate of pay for all hours worked on the shift following the change The parties agree that mutual shift changes may be arranged between employees on a impermanent basis if so approved by the Employer. ARTICLE 13 - PYRAMIDING Hours worked by an employee in any work week on which premium rates have once been allowed shall not be used again in any other overtime computations. In no case will overtime or premium compensation be duplicated or pyramided. ARTICLE 14- WORKING PRACTICES The Company shall not permit foremen, those above the rank of foremen, and laboratory and office staff to perform the work customarily performed by employees in the bargaining unit except in cases of: (a) "Emergency" - the term emergency shall mean Acts of God or unanticipated conditions created by mechanical or human failure where immediate action is necessary to prevent spoilage or loss of product or danger to persons or property; (b) Instructing or training of an employee on the job; (c) Quality and quantity control, experimental, development or other research work; (d) Periodic stocktaking (office staff); 141Page

17 (e) Unforeseen lateness or absenteeism not to exceed two hours. The above shall at no time be used to cause a lay-off to persons within the bargaining unit Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is understood that the current work practices of those not covered by this Agreement shall continue unless restricted or modified expressly by this Agreement. ARTICLE 15 -STATUTORY HOLIDAYS The following holidays are recognized as time off with pay for all employees who have been employed for at least three months, who have worked at least twelve days during the four work weeks immediately preceding a statutory holiday and, have worked the full scheduled regular day of work preceding and following such holiday. After consulting with the Union Committee, the Company will change the day that a statutory holiday will be celebrated, provided that such holiday shall be observed Monday to Friday inclusive. New Year's Day Good Friday Victoria Day Canada Day Civic Holiday Family Day Labour Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day Boxing Day December 24 Employees shall be deemed to have worked on the full scheduled day of work immediately preceding and/or following the holiday if: (a) An employee is absent as the result of a bona fide illness or accident, or layoff, which commenced no earlier than five working days before the holiday. (The Company will require a doctor's certificate on the employee's return to work with respect to illness or injury to be provided at the employee's expense); or (b) The employee is absent as the result of an approved leave of absence, which commenced no later than two working days before the holiday. lsi Page

18 An employee who is at work for at least six hours during the scheduled regular day of work preceding or the scheduled regular day of work following the statutory holiday will be deemed to have worked that full scheduled regular day of work for the purpose of qualifying for statutory holiday pay In the event that a holiday mentioned in Article falls within an employee's vacation period or bereavement leave he will be granted a day off with pay at his straight time rate in lieu thereof, which day off will be added to the employee's vacation period unless the Company and the employee agree that such day will be taken at another time The amount paid to a regular full time employee entitled to be paid for a statutory holiday shall be equal to their regular rate of pay on the basis of the basic working day or shift for the holiday in question of the day on which the holiday is declared An employee who is required to work on any of the above named holidays shall receive at the employee's option either: {a) pay at the rate of time and one-half {1 1 12) the employee's regular rate of pay for work performed on such holiday in addition to the employee's regular pay, or {b) pay at the rate of time and one-half {1 1 12) the employee's regular rate of pay for work performed on such holiday and in lieu, a day off sixty {60) following the holiday. Such lieu day off to be selected by the employee and their Supervisor by mutual agreement. ARTICLE 16 - VACATIONS The chart following outlines the employees' vacation entitlement. The timing of all vacation leaves will be at the discretion of the management The vacation year will be January 1 - December 31. Annual vacation leaves must be taken in the twelve-month period following the year it was earned. Permission to vary the timing of annual vacation 161 Page

19 leave must be obtained from the Company in writing. All employees are required to take two weeks annual leave. (a) Vacation pay to be paid at the time an employee takes their vacation (b) Employees who choose to take vacation one day at a time will receive their vacation pay in one day increments Employees entitled to more than two weeks leave may take pay in lieu of leave, only with the special permission of the Company. It is understood that on termination of employment, the employee will be reimbursed for any unused part of vacation credits. Length of Employment Each Anniversary Date of Continuous Employment Less Than 1 Year 1 year and less than 4 years of continuous employment Vacation Allotment *See below 2 weeks Pay Allowed 4% of earnings during the previous calendar year 2 weeks pay as calculated pursuant to Article years and less than 12 years of continuous employment 3 weeks 12 years and less than 21 years of continuous employment 4 weeks 21 years or more of continuous employment 5 weeks 3 weeks pay as calculated pursuant to Article weeks pay as calculated pursuant to Article weeks pay as calculated pursuant to Article *Employees having less than one (1) year's seniority shall receive that portion of then(10) days vacation with pay as the number of months worked bears to twelve (12) after probation is achieved. **Employees attaining thirty years of seniority shall be entitled to a week (only one time) of vacation at 2% gross For each week of pay allowed an employee will receive 40 hours pay calculated at the employee's straight time hourly rate at the 17[Page

20 time of his vacation, provided that an employee whose regular schedule at work is 39 hours per week or less shall receive as vacation pay a normal week's pay calculated as above but based on the employee's normal hours of work So far as is practicable, bearing in mind the work to be performed and the employees available to perform the work, preference as to holidays shall be allotted by the Company on a seniority basis. Unless the Company and the employee agree, employees shall take any vacation entitlement up to the length of any vacation plant shutdown scheduled by the Company during the period of such shutdown unless due to the nature of the work to be performed the Company deems it more appropriate that such vacation be taken at an alternative time Any employee who falls ill or is injured during their vacation period shall be considered to be on sick leave during the period of such illness and therefore the unused portion of his vacation period shall be returned to his vacation accrual time provided the Employee can prove such illness or injury with a medical certificate. No part of this clause shall be deemed to include monetary compensation to be paid by the Company to the affected Employee, (if so prepaid) An employee who fails to indicate his/her choice of vacation times by March 31, of each year may not exercise his/her seniority to prevent a more junior employee, who has so indicated their preference, from exercising vacation preference. ARTICLE 17- SENIORITY Seniority shall mean length of continuous service with the Company from the date of last hire Upon completion of the probationary period, employees shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges of this Agreement and the employee's seniority shall be effective from the date of last hire An employee shall be on probation until he/she has completed four hundred eighty (480) hours of work from the date of last hire. If the Company finds such employee's preference to be unsatisfactory 181 Page

21 during this period for any reason, the Company may in its absolute discretion terminate such employee's employment The seniority of an employee may be considered broken, all rights forfeited and there shall be no obligation to rehire when he: {a) voluntarily leaves the employ of the Company; (b) is discharged and is not reinstated through the Grievance or Arbitration Procedure; (c) is absent from work without permission for four consecutive working days unless it is established to the satisfaction of the Company that such absence was beyond the employee's control; (d) fails to return to work upon termination of an authorized leave of absence or utilizes a leave of absence for purposes other than those for which the leave of absence may have been granted; (e) fails to return to work within the period required by Article 22.04, unless such period is extended for reasons satisfactory to the Company; (f) has been laid off and has not returned to work pursuant to a recall within the period of his right to recall as specified in Article 22.03, or (g) is absent due to any reason for more than twelve consecutive months. (h) is absent due to accident, illness or injury for more than twenty-four (24) months Each employee heretofore or hereafter transferred out of the bargaining unit and subsequently transferred back into the bargaining unit shall accumulate seniority the same as if he had never been transferred out of the bargaining unit The Company agrees to supply an up-to-date seniority list at least once every six months to the Chief Steward with one copy being 19JPage

22 posted on the bulletin board. A copy of said seniority list will be forwarded to the Union office Temporary Workers will be granted back service and seniority for those periods of employment if hired on a permanent basis. ARTICLE 18 - LEAVES OF ABSENCE Leaves of Absence (a) The Company shall grant leaves of absence without pay to employees for illness or accident, it being understood that employees granted such leave shall be entitled to claim benefits available under group benefit plans in accordance with the provisions of such plans. Pregnant employees and employee's qualifying for Parental Leave who have been employed by the Company for one year shall be entitled to the benefits set out in the Employment Standards Act with respect to pregnancy leave and Parental Leave. (b) The Company may in its absolute discretion grant leaves of absence without pay to an employee for any legitimate personal reason. All requests for leaves of absence for a period longer than one day must be approved by the General manager or his designate and are subject to the written terms and conditions agreed upon Bereavement Leave (a) The Employer agrees to grant paid time off from scheduled work up to four (4) scheduled days in and around the funeral or memorial service for an employee who has successfully completed his probationary period for a death in the employees immediate family. Pay lost will be computed at the employee's regular wage rate for the number of normal hours the employee would have worked exclusive of overtime hours. Immediate family is defined as being the spouse, mother, father, son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, stepfather and stepmother, and 20IPage

23 grandchild of the employee. satisfactory proof of death of family. The employee will furnish the member of his immediate (b) The Employer agrees to grant paid time off from scheduled work for a maximum of one day for the funeral or memorial service (if on a weekend either the day before or after) for an employee who has successfully completed his probationary period for a death of their son in-law, daughter in-law, stepsister, stepbrother, sister-in-law, brother-in-law or grandparents. Pay lost will be computed at the employee's regular wage rate for the number of normal hours the employee would have worked exclusive of overtime hours. The employee will furnish satisfactory proof of death of the member of his immediate family Seniority will accumulate during the first sixty calendar days of any leave of absence but thereafter shall be retained but not accumulated, except that where an employee has been granted a leave of absence pursuant to Article 18.01(a) will accumulate seniority during the first six months and thereafter retained but not accumulated (a) Effective on each September 30, each employee who has one year of seniority will be credited with five sick days which may be used by the employee to offset days lost due to illness. Any sick days unused as of September 30 in each year will be paid out to the employees during the month of October. The payment for each unused sick day will be eight times the employee's job rate as of August 30. (b) Employees who have completed their probationary period as of December 1, but have less than one year of seniority will be credited with a pro rated number of sick days. For the purposes of calculating their pro rated sick days or pay out of unused sick days employees will receive one and one-half (1/12) of the five (5) days for each month they have been employed prior to December 1, that December 1, and each subsequent December 1, employees will be credited with the full allotment of sick days. The payment for unused sick days will be eight time the employee's' job rate as of November / Page

24 18.05 Family and Emergency Leave (a) The Employer shall grant Family Medical Leave to full-time, part-time, permanent employees who will be providing care or support to a family member who has a serious medical condition and is in significant risk of dying. (i) Family Medical Leave is unpaid leave for a period of eight (8) weeks in a twenty-six (26) week period. (ii) Family Medical Leave can last up to eight (8) weeks and must be taken in full week periods, not in days. (iii) The employee may not remain on a leave after the week in which the family member's death occurs, or in any event, after the twenty-six (26) week period referred to in the medical certificate. (b) Under the Employment Insurance Act, six (6) weeks of employment insurance benefits called "compassionate care benefits" shall be paid to E.l. eligible employees who have to be away from work temporarily to provide care to a family member who has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within twenty-six (26) weeks and who required care and support from one or more family members. (c) Family Member includes, Employee's souse (includes commonlaw or same sex spouse), a parent, step-parent or foster parent of the employee, a child, step-child or foster child of the employee or the employee's spouse. (d) An employee who intends to take a Family Medical leave shall: (i) provide written notice to the employer. An employee, who must begin the leave before providing written notice, is required to provide the written notice as soon as possible after commencing the leave. (ii) the employee must provide a certificate from a qualified health practitioner confirming that a family member has a serious medical condition and is in a significant risk of dying within a period of 26 weeks. 22/Page

25 (e) The Employer shall: (i) continue to pay the employer's share of the premiums to certain benefits (e.g. life and extended health insurance plans, accidental death plans and dental plans, etc.) that were provided to the employee before the leave; (ii) include the period of the leave in calculating the length of the employee's employment for seniority and other purposes such as access to all collective agreement entitlements Note: Employee's cannot complete probation while on such leaves of absence. (iii) reinstate the employee to the same position after the leave or to a comparable position if the employee's position no longer exists. (f) There is no limit on the number of family medical leaves an employee may take and there is no specified period of time that an employee must work between successive leaves. (g) Employees are entitled to take more than one leave in respect of the same family member if a health practitioner issues another certificate (whether the employee would be eligible for any further E.l. benefits would be a matter to be determined by the federal Employment Insurance Commission). {h) An employee may be entitled to both Emergency Leave and Family Medical Leave. They are separate leaves and the right to each leave is independent of any right an employee may have to the other leave. An employee who qualifies for both leaves would have full entitlement to each leave. (i) The Family Medical Leave and Emergency Leave shall be granted as per the Employment Standards Act. 23IPage

26 ARTICLE 19 - PERSONAL STATUS CHANGE Employees shall promptly notify the office in writing in the event of any of the following changes: (a) marital status; (b) name change; (c) address change; (d) telephone number change; (e) change in the number of dependents; (f) change of name, address and/or telephone number of person you wish notified in case of emergency, or (g) change in an insurance beneficiary If the Company does not take some action or is unable to take some action by reason of the employee's failure to comply with Article any loss suffered by the employee or his dependents or any failure to notify the employee shall not result in any liability upon the Company Employees shall promptly notify the Company of any expected or unexpected absence. ARTICLE 20 -SAFETY COMMITTEE At least two members of the bargaining unit (to be selected by the Union) shall be members of the Safety Committee. ARTICLE 21 - RETIREMENT (a) As of December 12, 2006, employees are no longer required to retire at the age of sixty-five (65), all of their rights and 24/Page

27 benefits shall continue un-interrupted, except as herein noted. They may announce their retirement with two months notice. (b) As of ratification, the Employer shall continue to pay as per Article the prescribed RRSP benefit, up to the age of seventy-one (71) and thereafter shall receive an ongoing cash payout at the current rate as per Article minus all statutory deductions in lieu of the RRSP benefit. (c) The parties shall re-examine and negotiate any necessary adjustment of any level of Health and Welfare benefit or the benefit coverage, and pay in Lieu of benefits during the life of the Collective Agreement, effected by the changes in legislation. ARTICLE 22- LAYOFF AND RECALL (a) In the event of layoff or recall from layoff, within the bargaining unit, seniority shall govern provided that in the reasonable and good faith opinion of the Company, the senior employee has the qualifications to perform the available work. (b) In the event of layoff the employer will offer the layoff to employees within the job group affected by the layoff in order of seniority. Should an involuntary layoff become necessary the most junior employee will be laid off in accordance with Article 22. (c) Laid off employees will be notified by registered mail of all job postings while on lay-off and while they still maintain recall rights. It is the responsibility of employees to inform the company of their current address for the purpose of notification of postings during lay-off The Company agrees to give the employees notice of any scheduled temporary layoff at least two working days before the institution of such layoff. Notwithstanding the above, the Company may make non-scheduled layoffs without such notice but in such cases shall promptly notify the Union of its intentions and keep the Union advised. A non-scheduled layoff is a layoff caused by the failure to receive supplies, breakdown of equipment, failure to receive a 25IPage

28 public utility (electricity, water or gas), fire or flood provided such causes of layoff is not for the failure of the Company to make reasonable efforts to avoid such cause, and Act of God Any non-probationary employee who is laid off due to lack of work shall be placed on the recall list for a period of one year after which period such employee's right to recall under the provisions of this Agreement shall terminate Notice of recall to an employee who has been laid off shall be given by registered or certified mail or delivered personally to the last known address of the employee or at such address as the employee may in writing advise the Company. The employee must respond to such notice within five working days of the arrival of such notice at such address or lose rights of seniority and recall, however, an employee who is prevented from responding to a recall notice because of illness shall not lose such rights thereby, but such employee may be bypassed for the position available. Note: if such employee is employed at the time of recall, the term of five working days above referred to shall be extended to seven working days. An employee bypassed above will remain on the recall list for the balance of the employee's remaining recall period Job Posting: (a) In the event that the Company has a requirement for an additional employee within a job classification covered by this Agreement the Company shall post a notice for a period of five working days. If any employee for whom such posted classification would constitute a promotion indicates in writing within said five day period that he or she wishes to be considered for such posted classification, the Company will give consideration to such application. (b) The Company may fill any vacancy temporarily during the posting and consideration period. (c) In filling the vacancy consideration will be given to the skill, efficiency and ability of each of the applicants and where, in the reasonable and good faith opinion of the Company, these factors are relatively equal as between applicants the employee with the greatest seniority shall be awarded the job 261Page

29 provided the employee has the qualifications to perform the job following a reasonable period of familiarizations. The Company will provide the senior applicant with up to one week familiarization or training period, where required, except for the shipping position, where up to three weeks training may be required, to establish that he is capable of performing the work. During the familiarization period the employee will be paid at the rate of the position he currently holds. (d) In filling vacancies within the Maintenance, Extruder or Lead Extruder positions, it is agreed that only employees with one year prior experience on these operations will be eligible to apply to fill the vacancy. If no employee is eligible to apply, the Company may hire from outside the bargaining unit. lftwo or more eligible employees apply the position will be filled as per Article (c) with the exception that the familiarization period shall be six weeks. ARTICLE 23 - BULLETIN BOARDS AND BOOT ALLOWANCE The Company will provide a bulletin board for the exclusive use of the Union, provided that the use of the board shall be restricted to the posting thereon only of such notices as have received the prior approval of the Company. Notices of meetings or notices of the results of elections may be posted without prior Company approval. All notices must be signed by an authorized representative of the Union The Company will pay up to one hundred and twenty-five ($125.00) dollars towards the purchase of safety shoes by employees required to wear safety shoes in the workplace. This Boot Allowance will be paid on presentation of a proper receipt. If the employee elects to receive the entire one hundred and twenty-five ($125.00) dollars at one time there must be at least a ten (10) month interval between boot allowances. An employee may elect to receive sixty-two dollars and fifty cents ($62.50) twice per year with at least six (6) months between payments. 27J Page