Tuesday, December 14, 2021, at 2:05 PM
To: "apsa-members@sfu.ca" <apsa-members@sfu.ca>
Subject: APSA: Salary and Benefits Negotiations Update

Sent on behalf of the Salary and Benefits Committee Chair, Kris Nordgren.

Hello everyone,

The APSA Salary and Benefits Negotiation Team has received the final award from Arbitrator, Jim Dorsey. We're pleased to announce that Mr. Dorsey selected APSA's position of record, which we take as a signal that our proposal was fair and reasonable. 

The award follows 30-days of negotiations, 4-months of mediation, and a 1-day arbitration hearing with the University’s representatives.

As the outcome is an award by the Arbitrator, not a negotiated agreement, it is considered final and binding and won't be subject to a ratification vote by members or approval by SFU’s Board of Governors.

Here are the details of the settlement, as awarded by the Arbitrator:

Agreed upon items (prior to arbitration):

  1. Term of the revised basic agreement:
  • 3-year agreement, July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2022. 
  1. General Wage Increases (GWI) of 2% in each of the three years of the revised basic agreement as follows:
  • July 1, 2019, 2.0% retroactive from payment date
  • July 1, 2020, 2.0% retroactive from payment date
  • July 1, 2021, 2.0% retroactive from payment date

In addition to GWI, the following items were awarded by the Arbitrator:

  1. Policy AD 10.11 Reimbursement of Professional Development Expenses 
  • The amount of reimbursement available for professional development expenses will be increased from $700 to $1,100 per calendar year (i.e. increase of $400/year), and a maximum carry-forward amount of $5,500 (increased from $3,500).
  • The retroactive “unspent amount” of the annual increase for the 2.5-year period between July 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021, will be paid to eligible employees within the next 90 days in accordance with a proposed formula (approximately 52.5% of the actual value based on average usage over the past few years), regardless whether they actually incurred reimbursable expenses.  Part-time employees will be prorated based on hours worked.
  1. Policy AD 10-08 Leaves With and Without Pay, 7.01 (d) Temporary Employee Sick Leave
  • Temporary employees will no longer require three (3) weeks of uninterrupted service between periods of sick leave after they have completed their initial three weeks of uninterrupted service.
  1. Policy AD 10-11 Reimbursement of Professional Development Expenses
  • Temporary employees with a minimum contract period of one year will be eligible for reimbursement of professional development expenses of $550 under Policy AD 10-11.
  • The retroactive “unspent amount” of the annual increase for the 2.5-year period between July 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021, will be paid to eligible temporary employees within the next 90 days in accordance with a proposed formula (approximately 52.5% of the actual value based on average usage over the past few years), regardless whether they actually incurred reimbursable expenses. 

The University has informed APSA that the award will be implemented without delay. 

We hope to communicate with you further about the award in the New Year. 

On behalf of the Salary & Benefits Committee,

Kris Nordgren

Chair