[PDADC-L] Merit Increases for 2010

July 7, 2010

To: Professional & Managerial Staff
Confidential Staff
Research Associates

From: David Naylor, President
Angela Hildyard, VP HR & Equity

Re: Merit Increases for 2010

We are writing to update you on your salary review for this year. As previous communications have indicated, the University is subject to Bill 16 – the Public Sector Compensation Restraint Act. This legislation does permit some increases to compensation based on an existing, formally approved merit program. Thus, we made sure that, before the summer break, the Business Board of Governing Council approved in principle the awarding of merit increases for PMs, Confidential Staff and Research Associates in accordance with our existing program. That approval was sought because we are strongly committed to mitigating any inadvertent inequities arising from Bill 16.

At this point, it is uncertain how pay increases will unfold for different groups at the University. The majority of our employees are represented by a Union or an Association which formally bargains salaries and benefits on their behalf. While Bill 16 does not apply to them, the Compensation Restraint Program does apply and we are expected to table/negotiate 0% across-the-board increases for all these groups in collective bargaining. As well, some members of these bargaining units are not eligible for merit pay. On the other hand, we are well aware that none of you received an ATB increase for July 2009 to June 2010 – a situation that was never anticipated by the legislation.

To help us understand the context and comparators, we are now awaiting the outcome of the arbitrator’s decision on salary and benefits for UTFA. It is salient that the decision will address across-the-board salary increases for July 2009 to June 2010. We had hoped that the decision would be rendered before the end of June, but we now anticipate that the decision will be available sometime in August. We propose therefore to delay the implementation of your merit –based increases until we receive the UTFA award because we wish to take the full provisions of the UTFA award into account as we determine the merit amounts for you for this year. Please rest assured that where there is a merit adjustment it will be retroactive to July 1.

We understand that this is a frustrating and fluid situation for everyone. Suffice it to say that we are trying to respect the legislation and the restraint program, while also ensuring that ongoing salary reviews are fair to the University’s dedicated staff members. Please do not hesitate to contact the Office of the VP-Human Resources and Equity if you have any concerns or questions.