NATIONAL JOINT COUNCIL AGREEMENTS 22.1 Subject to the National Joint Council By-Laws, agreements concluded by the National Joint Council of the Public Service on items which may be included in a collective agreement, and which the parties to this agreement have endorsed after December 6, 1978, will form part of this collective agreement, subject to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (FPSLRA) and any legislation by Parliament that has been or may be, as the case may be, established pursuant to any Act prescribed in Section 113(b) of the PSLRA.
22.2 NJC items which may be included in a collective agreement are those items which the parties to the NJC agreements have designated as such or upon which the Chairman of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Board has made a ruling pursuant to (c) of the NJC Memorandum of Understanding which became effective December 6, 1978
22.3 The following directives, as amended from time to time by National Joint Council recommendation and which have been approved by the National Research Council Canada, form part of this Agreement: - Bilingualism Bonus Directive - Commuting Assistance Directive - Occupational Health and Safety Directive - Relocation Directive - Travel Directive - First Aid to the General Public – Allowances for Employees - Public Service Health Care Plan - Uniforms Directive
22.4 During the term of this Agreement, other directives may be added to the above noted list.
22.5 Grievances in regard to the above directives shall be presented in accordance with clause 19.1 of the Grievance Procedure article of this Agreement.
Contractor Hearing Board 1. If there is evidence that the Contractor may be subject to debarment, the Department will notify the Contractor in writing of the evidence which is the basis for the proposed debarment and will advise the Contractor of the scheduled date for a debarment hearing before the Contractor Hearing Board.
2. The Contractor Hearing Board will conduct a hearing where evidence on the proposed debarment is presented. The Contractor and/or the Contractor’s representative shall be given an opportunity to submit evidence at that hearing. After the hearing, the Contractor Hearing Board shall prepare a tentative proposed decision, which shall contain a recommendation regarding whether the Contractor should be debarred, and, if so, the appropriate length of time of the debarment. The Contractor and the Department shall be provided an opportunity to object to the tentative proposed decision prior to its presentation to the Board of Supervisors.
3. After consideration of any objections, or if no objections are submitted, a record of the hearing, the proposed decision, and any other recommendation of the Contractor Hearing Board shall be presented to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors shall have the right to modify, deny, or adopt the proposed decision and recommendation of the Contractor Hearing Board.
4. If a Contractor has been debarred for a period longer than five (5) years, that Contractor may after the debarment has been in effect for at least five (5) years, submit a written request for review of the debarment determination to reduce the period of debarment or terminate the debarment. The County may, in its discretion, reduce the period of debarment or terminate the debarment if it finds that the Contractor has adequately demonstrated one or more of the following: (1) elimination of the grounds for which the debarment was imposed; (2) a bona fide change in ownership or management; (3) material evidence discovered after debarment was imposed; or (4) any other reason that is in the best interests of the County.
5. The Contractor Hearing Board will consider a request for review of a debarment determination only where (1) the Contractor has been debarred for a period longer than five (5) years; (2) the debarment has been in effect for at least five (5) years; and (3) the request is in writing, states one or more of the grounds for reduction of the debarment period or termination of the debarment, and includes supporting documentation. Upon receiving an appropriate request, the Contractor Hearing Board will provide notice of the hearing on the request. At the hearing, the Contractor Hearing Board shall conduct a hearing where evidence on the proposed reduction of debarment period or termination of debarment is presented. This hearing shall be conducted and the request for review decided by the Contractor Hearing Board pursuant to the same procedures as for a debarment hearing.
6. The Contractor Hearing Board’s proposed decision shall contain a recommendation on the request to reduce the period of debarment or terminate the debarment. The Contractor Hearing Board shall present its proposed decision and recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors shall have the right to modify, deny, or adopt the proposed decision and recommendation of the Contractor Hearing Board.
Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee The Employer and the Union recognize the role of the joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee in promoting a safe and healthful workplace. The parties agree that a Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee shall be established for each Employer covered by this Collective Agreement. The Committee shall govern itself in accordance with the provisions of the Industrial Health and Safety Regulations made pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Act. The Committee shall be as between the Employer and the Union, with equal representation, and with each party appointing its own representatives. Representatives of the Union shall be chosen by the Union membership or appointed by the Union. All minutes of the meetings of the Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committee will be recorded in a mutually agreeable format and will be sent to the Union. The Union further agrees to actively pursue with the other Health Care Unions a Joint Union Committee for the purposes of this Article. The Employer agrees to provide or cause to be provided to Employer members of the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee adequate training and orientation to the duties and responsibilities of committee members to allow the incumbents to fulfil those duties competently. The Union agrees to provide or cause to be provided to Union members of the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee adequate training and orientation to the duties and responsibilities of committee members to allow the incumbents to fulfil those duties competently. Such training and orientation shall take place within six (6) months of taking office.
Hospital-Association Committee (a) There shall be a Hospital-Union Committee comprised of representatives of the Hospital, one of whom shall be the Chief Nursing Officer or designate and of the Union, one of whom shall be the Bargaining Unit President or designate. The number of representatives is set out in the Appendix of Local Provisions and the membership of the Committee may be expanded by mutual agreement.
(b) The Committee shall meet every two (2) months unless otherwise agreed and as required under Article 8.01 (a) (iv). The duties of chair and secretary shall alternate between the parties. Where possible, agenda items will be exchanged in writing at least five (5) calendar days prior to the meeting. A record shall be maintained of matters referred to the Committee and the recommended disposition, if any, unless agreed to the contrary. Copies of the record shall be provided to Committee members.
(c) The purpose of the Committee includes:
i) promoting and providing effective and meaningful communication of information and ideas, including but not limited to workload measurement tools and the promotion of best practices. Such communication may include discussion of nursing workload measurement and patient acuity systems. The Hospital will provide, upon request, information on workload measurement systems applicable to nursing currently used by the Hospital, and evaluations completed by the Hospital of such systems.
ii) reviewing professional responsibility complaints with a view to identifying trends and sharing organizational successes and solutions, making joint recommendations on matters of concern including the quality and quantity of nursing care and discussing the development and implementation of quality initiatives;
iii) making joint recommendations to the Chief Nursing Officer on matters of concern regarding recurring workload issues including the development of staffing guidelines, the use of agency nurses and use of overtime;
iv) dealing with complaints referred to it in accordance with the provisions of Article 8, Professional Responsibility;
v) discussing and reviewing matters relating to orientation and in- service programs;
vi) promote the creation of full-time positions for nurses, and discuss the effect of such changes on the employment status of the nurses. This may include the impact, if any, on part-time and full-time, job sharing and retention and recruitment.
(d) The Hospital agrees to pay for time spent during regular working hours for representatives of the Union attending at such meetings.
(e) Where a Committee representative designated by the Union attends Committee meetings outside of her or his regularly scheduled hours, she or he will be paid for all time spent in attendance at such meetings at her or his regular straight time hourly rate of pay. Such payment shall be limited to two (2) Committee representatives per meeting.
Health and Safety Committees In order to provide a safe and healthful workplace, local unit level LMCs shall establish Health and Safety Committees. Each committee will be composed of an equal number of representatives appointed by the Union and the Employer and will be co-chaired by a Union and Employer representative. A Union representative must be a member of the unit but either party may be accompanied by staff and/or other subject matter experts who may participate, but not vote, at meetings. Each party shall prepare and submit an agenda to the other party one week prior to any scheduled meeting. If neither party submits an agenda, the meeting shall be canceled. Each committee’s general responsibility will be to provide a safe and healthful workplace by recognizing hazards and recommending the abatement of hazards and educational programs. Each committee will:
1. Meet on an established schedule;
2. arrange periodic inspections to detect, evaluate and offer recommendations for control of potential health and safety hazards;
3. appoint members of the committee to participate in inspections, investigations, or other established health and safety functions to the extent necessary;
4. receive and review a quarterly summary of job-related health and safety reports including accident reports and make appropriate recommendations;
5. investigate all types of employee job-related accidents and all types of occupational illnesses and make recommendations;
6. promote health and safety education;
7. study the use of VDTs and make appropriate recommendations to ensure the health and safety of employees regarding such use;
8. maintain and review minutes of all committee meetings; and
9. review the availability and adequacy of first aid supplies and equipment and address any inadequacies. In cases where summary reports are provided, a committee member may request and receive an individual case file or report. In no case will an employee’s records be provided when the law forbids disclosure. In addition, employees’ names will normally be deleted but may be provided to all committee members in instances where committee members need to know the name(s) of employee(s) to effectively represent the bargaining unit(s) and disclosure of name(s) is not prohibited by law. The Employer may require committee members and union representatives to sign confidentiality statements. Members of each Health and Safety Committee will be paid by the Employer while performing committee duties, including travel time, and will also be paid for any time spent in committee approved training related to health and safety. The Committee will develop an annual training program for its members. Each Health and Safety Committee will establish rules consistent with the above principles. A mechanism to coordinate the efforts of individual Health and Safety Committees will be established at each agency.
CEQA Activities funded under this Grant Agreement, regardless of funding source, must be in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) Any work that is subject to CEQA and funded under this Agreement shall not proceed until documents that satisfy the CEQA process are received by the DWR Grant Manager and the State has completed its CEQA compliance. Work funded under this Agreement that is subject to a CEQA document shall not proceed until and unless approved by the Department of Water Resources. Such approval is fully discretionary and shall constitute a condition precedent to any work for which it is required. If CEQA compliance by the Grantee is not complete at the time the State signs this Agreement, once the State has considered the environmental documents, it may decide to require changes, alterations, or other mitigation to the Project; or to not fund the Project. Should the State decide to not fund the Project, this Agreement shall be terminated in accordance with Paragraph 10, “Default Provisions.”
Final Approval Hearing “Final Approval Hearing” shall mean the hearing at which the Court will consider and finally decide whether to enter the Final Judgment.
Arbitration Hearing An Arbitration Hearing will be held within thirty (30) days after the Administrative Conference if no discovery is taken, or within thirty (30) days after the close of discovery, unless all parties and the Panel agree to extend the Arbitration Hearing date, or unless the parties agree in writing to waive the Arbitration Hearing. The parties may mutually agree on the location of the Arbitration Hearing. If the parties fail to agree, the Arbitration Hearing shall be held in Chicago, Illinois, or at such other location determined by the Presiding Arbitrator to be most convenient to the participants. The Panel will determine the date(s) and time(s) of the Arbitration Hearing(s) after consultation with all parties and shall provide reasonable notice thereof to all parties or their representatives.
Safety Committees Joint employee-elected and Employer appointed safety committees shall be formed in accord with WISHA requirements and following University of Washington policy. The Union is entitled to representation on the University-wide or specific organizational or divisional committees where bargaining unit employees are working. Any department or unit committee also dealing with health and safety issues in work areas shall appropriately involve bargaining unit employees. Participation in safety and health committees, including meeting time, health and safety research, work on committee assignments, seminars, and classes will be considered time worked for all employees in accordance with University policy. Release time must be arranged with supervisors in advance. When the committee makes a recommendation that requires action or approval beyond its scope of authority, the Employer will communicate its disposition of the formal written recommendation within thirty (30) days.
Composition of Board of Arbitration When either party requests that a grievance be submitted to arbitration, the request shall be made by registered mail addressed to the other party of the Agreement, indicating the name of its nominee on an Arbitration Board. Within five (5) days thereafter, the other party shall answer by registered mail indicating the name and address of its appointee to the Arbitration Board. The two appointees shall select an impartial chairperson.
