The UNA Resources, Local Updates and Newsletter Blog

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Local | Newsletters | UNA

Al 11/1/18 Al 11/1/18

Get paid for every hour on-call

According to Article 9.03 of UNA’s Provincial Collective Agreement, an Employee who is assigned On-Call Duty on a regular work day is paid a premium of $3.30 per hour. If it is a day of rest or a Named Holiday, the premium rate if $4.50 per hour. Article 9.04 (b) states that if an Employee is called back to work, it is deemed to be overtime. The overtime rate must be paid for all the hours worked or the minimum of three hours, in addition to the On-Call pay. An Employee who is on-call and is called back to duty is entitled to 50.5 cents per kilometre (or other reasonable transportation costs) for travel to and from her place of residence and work.

Al 11/1/18 Al 11/1/18

Document your job

It is valuable and important for every Employee to have written documentation of her position. According to Article 14.10 of the UNA Provincial Collective Agreement, the key document is the ‘Letter of Hire’ which must include:” number of hours per shift and shifts per shift cycle category (regular, temporary, or casual) classification date of hire, and transfer increment level site, or sites if the person is working “at or out of” It is also important for Employees to be sure their Seniority Date is correct. A Seniority Date is the date an Employee entered the bargaining unit. UNA Local Executive members can confirm this date. Documentation of each Employee’s position can be important if there are layoffs or displacements.

Al 11/1/18 Al 11/1/18

Temporary transfers in emergency circumstances

Under Article 44.05 (e) of the UNA provincial collective agreement, an Employer may assign Employees to work at any site to provide assistance in emergency circumstances. An emergency is an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. Before invoking this provision, the Employer will assess its ability to meet the emergency by compelling Employees at that site to work overtime. The Employer will notify the Union any time this provision is invoked and disclose the circumstances that resulted in the emergency. Both the Employer and the Union recognize that this decision should be made in the best interests of patient care, that the relative costs are not a factor in themselves and that there are times when requiring mandatory overtime may itself create stresses on Employees and safety concerns that outweigh the stresses and concerns caused by relocation. The Employer shall reimburse Employees for all reasonable, necessary and substantiated additional accommodation and transportation costs for traveling between sites including parking if not otherwise provided.

Al 11/1/18 Al 11/1/18

16 hours of work is the max

With a fluctuating number of Registered Nurses employed in the workforce, staff at some worksites are asked to work more than a double shift, which equals more than 15.5 consecutive hours. UNA’s Provincial Collective Agreement prohibits this unsafe practice: 8.03 No Employee shall be requested or permitted to work more than a total of 16 hours (inclusive of regular and overtime hours) in a 24 hour period beginning at the first hour the Employee reports to work. Working extra hours can have professional conduct implications. The Practice Standards for Regulated Members, published by the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta, states: 5.9 The registered nurse ensures their fitness to practice. Fitness to practice means that the registered nurse restricts or accommodates practice if he/she cannot safely perform essential functions of the nursing role due to mental or physical disabilities.