Permanent Vacancies All vacancies or newly-created positions within the bargaining unit shall be posted within seven (7) working days of the date the vacancy occurs in a conspicuous place on bulletin boards in each building. The job posting will set forth the requirements for the position. Employees within the job division in which the vacancy exists may apply for it. The senior employee within the job division in which the vacancy exists applying for the position who meets all of the requirements shall be granted the position. In the event the senior applicant is denied the promotion, the reason for denial shall be given in writing to the employee. If the vacancy is not filled from within the division, then the vacancy shall be reposted for a period of seven (7) working days. Full time and full time school year employees from other divisions interested in the job posting may file a written application with the Employer by the deadline established in the posting. The senior full time or full time school year employee applying for the position who meets all the requirements according to the job description and shall be granted the position. In the event the senior applicant is denied the promotion, the reason for denial shall be given in writing to the employee. If the vacancy is not filled by a full time or full time school year employee, then the vacancy shall be reposted for a period of seven (7) working days. The Employer shall given due consideration to all applicants for the permanent vacancy. In considering an applicant’s qualifications to perform the required work, the Employer shall consider the employee’s ability, experience, training, work record, skills and dependability. The applicant considered by the Employer to be the best qualified shall be awarded the permanent vacancy; provided, however, that if the Employer determines that the qualifications of the applicants are relatively equal, the applicant with the greatest seniority shall be awarded the position. The Employer reserves the right to determine that none of the applicants are qualified and leave the position open or to seek further applicants.
SENIORITY AND LAYOFF The first twelve (12) months of continuous employment starting from the date of employment shall constitute a new employee’s probationary period. At the three (3) month point in the probationary period, the DPW Director (for the DPW employees) and the Town Administrator (for the Custodian employees) will meet with the employee for an evaluation in order to inform him/her of any problems with job performance and corrections that need to be made. If the DPW Director or the Town Administrator determines that within or at the end of the twelve (12) month period that the employee is not performing their duties, then said employee can be discharged from said position without recourse from the Union (not subject to the grievance procedure). An employee shall acquire seniority after completing the twelve (12) month probationary period and his/her seniority will revert to the beginning date of employment. During the twelve (12) month probationary period said employee shall be entitled to and receive all the benefits of the Collective Bargaining Agreement as practiced in the past. An employee's full time continuous service with the Town of Pembroke ("Town-wide" seniority) shall determine the employee's seniority for purposes of layoff and recall under this article. Overall seniority will be considered in cases of transfers. Overall seniority within each Division will be considered in preference in choice of vacation periods. In the event that the DPW Director needs to transfer employees from one Division to another, the transfer notification will be posted on the Union Board. The transfer will start with the least senior employee in the Division effected unless a senior employee in the Division requests the transfer in writing. If the Town finds it necessary to lay off employees, the procedures set forth in this article will apply. The employer shall meet with the Union to discuss any impending layoffs at least thirty (30) days prior to such layoff. A "layoff" is hereby defined as a complete termination of employment for economic or other legitimate non-disciplinary reasons. If a layoff is necessary, the Town shall layoff by job classification first, then by seniority, starting with the least senior employee. In all cases, seniority shall be measured by Town-wide service as defined above and not by departmental service. If it is the Highway, Tree, Cemetery budget that is affected by the layoff, the least senior employee will have the right to bump a lesser senior employee in the Water Division. If it is the Water budget that is affected, the least senior employee will have the right to bump a lesser senior employee in the Highway, Tree or Cemetery Division. In the case of the Custodian Classification, if a layoff is necessary, the Town shall layoff in the order of starting with the least senior employee within the Custodian classification. An employee in the Custodian classification will not be permitted to bump any employee within any of the other DPW Divisions. In the event of a layoff, the Custodians shall not be eligible to bump into any other division of the DPW, meaning the Water, Highway, or Cemetery/Tree Divisions. In rehiring in any job classification the Town will offer re-employment to these former employees who have been laid off in the inverse order in which said employees were laid off. There shall be no obligation to offer re-employment to any employee who has been laid off more than three (3) years. The offer of re-employment shall be sufficient if made by certified or registered mail addressed to the laid off employee at his last address of record, as shown by the records of the town. Any such laid off employee must respond and be available for re-employment within seventeen (17) days from the date of mailing of the offer; otherwise the laid off employee shall be deemed to have refused re-employment and the Town's obligation under this article is satisfied.
SENIORITY AND LAYOFFS 11.01 Seniority of employees shall be recognized within their respective trade and job classifications. New employees shall be placed on the seniority list at the end of their probationary period and their respective seniority shall be dated back to the date of beginning of employment.
11.02 Seniority lists, the accuracy of which has been agreed to on behalf of the Union in writing shall be maintained at all times by the Employer and shall be available to the Union for inspection to the extent reasonably necessary for the Union to ascertain the seniority status of an employee within its jurisdiction.
11.03 An employee shall lose his seniority and shall be deemed to have quit for any of the following reasons:
a. if the employee voluntarily quits his employment;
b. if the employee is discharged for a just cause and the discharge is not reversed through the grievance procedure;
c. for failure to report to work following a layoff pursuant to the terms of Article 11.07;
d. is absent from work for three (3) consecutive working days without notifying the Employer, unless a reason satisfactory to the Employer is given;
e. is absent due to layoff or long-term disability, or both, which absence continues for more than six (6) months, except in the event that the employee is on Workers' Compensation and in the event of sickness when the employee has submitted satisfactory evidence of illness, in which cases a period of two (2) years shall apply;
f. if the employee fails to report for work upon the termination of an authorized leave of absence, unless a reason satisfactory to the Employer is given, and is discharged as a result thereof, which discharge is not reversed through the grievance and arbitration procedure herein;
g. if an employee utilizes a leave of absence for purposes other than those for which the leave of absence was granted.
11.04 When a reduction of the workforce is inevitable, probationary employees shall be laid off first. If further reductions are necessary, the Employer shall determine the order of layoff in consultation with the union and in doing so, they shall be guided by the following considerations:
a. seniority standings of the employees;
b. ability of the employees to perform the work. It is understood and agreed that no employee will be laid off if there is a fellow employee (or employees) of comparable seniority who is still entitled to vacation. In such a case the latter may be required to take up any remaining vacation to which he is entitled before others will be laid off.
11.05 The Employer shall give one (1) week's notice to the employees of the need for a layoff.
11.06 Any appeal in regard to a layoff must be taken up under the first step of the grievance procedure hereinafter set forth within five (5) workdays after the layoff took place.
11.07 Any employee laid off and recalled for work must return within one (1) workday when unemployed and within seven (7) workdays when employed elsewhere after being recalled, or make definite arrangements with the Employer to return.
11.08 Employees who terminate their employment or are laid off and who are re-hired or return to work within eighteen
Transfer of Seniority and Service Effective (the date as set out in the Local Provisions Appendix) and for employees who transfer subsequent to (the effective date as set out in the Local Provisions Appendix): For application of seniority for purposes of promotion, demotion, transfer, layoff and recall and service (including meeting any waiting period or other entitlement requirements) for purposes of vacation entitlement, HOODIP or equivalent, health and welfare benefit plans, and wage progression:
(i) an employee whose status is changed from full-time to part-time shall receive full credit for his seniority and service;
(ii) an employee whose status is changed from part-time to full-time shall receive credit for his seniority and service on the basis of one (1) year for each 1725 hours worked. The above-noted employee shall be allowed a trial period of up to thirty (30) days, during which the Hospital will determine if the employee can satisfactorily perform the job. Within this period the employee may voluntarily return, or be returned without loss of seniority to his former duties on the same shift in the same department and at the appropriate rate of pay, subject to any changes which would have occurred had he not transferred.
Filling Vacancies In the filling of vacancies, new positions, transfers or promotions, appointments shall be made to the employee with the required qualifications, and level of competency and efficiency as required by the position specifications, and where such requirements are equal, seniority shall be the determining factor.
Classification Seniority Classification Seniority" is defined as the length of service in a specific job classification within the bargaining unit, beginning with the date an employee starts to serve a probationary appointment. Classification Seniority shall be interrupted only by separation because of resignation, discharge for just cause, failure to return upon expiration of a leave of absence, failure to respond to a recall from layoff, or retirement.
Posting and Filling of Vacancies 8.1(1) When a permanent vacancy occurs within a classification covered by this agreement, which the Employer intends to fill, after the Employer applies the internal job transfer bidding procedure and the ultimate vacancy is thereby identified, such vacancy shall be advertised for ten (10) calendar days provided that nothing herein shall prevent the Employer from advertising such vacancy throughout its system or outside during the ten (10) day period. Probationary employees may, at the sole discretion of the Employer, be considered for another position outside their classification after the signing date of this agreement. The Company reserves the sole and absolute right to carry out any applicable interviewing or testing that is necessary in its opinion. All test processes will be approved by qualified Human Resources staff. An employee will only be allowed to take one test failure for each different job classification bid every four (4) months. Current employees applying for positions which involve increased driving responsibilities must meet corporate driving standards and provide with application a current driving abstract. The opinion of the Employer shall not be exercised in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner.
8.1(2) Internal Job Transfer Bidding Procedure
8.1(3) This internal job transfer bidding procedure is within a given classification as follows:
8.1(4) All employees within each classification, when requested, must submit a “standing application” to transfer to any existing alternate home base or location, shift, shift hours, days off (in order of preference), to transfer from part-time to full-time status, or to indicate that they wish no change, whichever is applicable to each individual within their current classification.
8.1(5) A copy of such standing application submitted will be furnished to the employee. Since a standing application will remain valid indefinitely until it results in action or is replaced by the employee, it is the responsibility of the employee to ensure that a standing application always reflects the employee’s current preferences.
8.1(6) (i) When a permanent classification position vacancy is to be filled, all standing applications will immediately be reviewed with the intention of awarding transfers (including any “resultant” transfers) in order of classification seniority in the following sequence, where applicable:
(a) transfer of a full-time employee from one home base or location to another or as referred to above;
(b) transfer of an employee from part-time to full- time status;
(c) transfer of part-time employees from one home base or location to another or as referred to above; and
(d) transfer of full-time employees to part-time.
Loss of Seniority and Employment A Nurse shall lose both Seniority and employment in the event that:
(a) The Nurse is discharged for just cause and is not reinstated.
(b) The Nurse resigns or retires from employment.
(c) After recall, the Nurse fails to notify the Employer as set out in lay off provisions unless such notice was not reasonably possible.
(d) The Nurse is laid-off for more than two (2) years, subject to lay off provisions.
(e) The Nurse is absent from work for three (3) consecutive scheduled shifts or more without sufficient cause or without notifying the Employer, unless such notice was not reasonably possible.
(f) A Nurse who retires from employment loses employment and Service, but if within six months of the retirement, the Nurse returns to work in any Bargaining Unit represented by the Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union, the Nurse will maintain the Seniority the Nurse had prior to retirement and may accumulate additional Seniority on either a Casual or Regular basis depending on the status of the appointment after retirement.
(g) The Nurse fails to return from an approved leave of absence, without notifying the Employer unless such notice was not reasonably possible or takes unauthorized employment while on an approved leave of absence.
Super Seniority For purposes of layoff and recall only, the President shall head the seniority list, provided however, that such officer must have the necessary skill and experience to perform the required work. The Sheriff agrees that this section shall not be applied in an arbitrary manner.
Seniority Application Except under extraordinary circumstances, vacations, shifts, shift transfers and regular days off shall be scheduled with due regard for the needs of the agency, seniority, and employee preference. The state and the PBA understand that there may be times when the needs of the agency will not permit such scheduling.
