Bulletin
Vancouver Shipyards – Welcoming Your New Job Stewards and Sick Leave Notes
June 18, 2026
To: All MoveUP Members at Vancouver Shipyards
Your new steward team
We are excited to now have five job stewards represent our members at Vancouver Shipyards. Please welcome Darrell Ross, John Calogeros, Keshav Malhotra, Lisa Le, and Wahab Ali.
I had the opportunity to meet with most of your new stewards on June 11 to share information about their role and to discuss ongoing issues at Vancouver Shipyards. I want to thank all our stewards for stepping up to support their colleagues.
No sick leave notes for absences less than 3 days
During our stewards meeting, we were advised that some of you have been asked to provide medical notes for a sick leave absence that was 3 days or less. We were also informed that these members were told they required a medical note to access their sick leave pay.
Let me be very clear on this: This is both illegal and a violation of your collective agreement.
If your manager makes this request, inform a job steward or your union representative immediately.
Your employer cannot deny your sick leave pay for absences that are 3 days or less.
BC Employment Standards Act versus your Collective Agreement
As of 2025, the BC Employment Standards Act only allows your employer to request a sick note if an employee has called in sick for 5 days or less, more than twice in a calendar year.
If you exceed that limit, then the terms of your collective agreement will apply from then on.
Your collective agreement states that your employer may require you to present a doctor’s certificate to receive sick leave pay if you have a leave that exceeds 3 days. Your employer is responsible for reimbursing you if there is a cost to get a doctor’s certificate. Your employer must also inform you before your return to work that they require a doctor’s certificate.
Please see Article 10.02 of Appendix F of your collective agreement for more information.
Example scenarios
Example 1:
You take your first sick leave of the calendar year of 4 days in July. You are not required to provide a doctor’s certificate under any circumstances.
Example 2:
You take your first sick leave of the calendar year of 4 days in July, and then you take 4 days in September. You are not required to provide a doctor’s certificate under any circumstances.
Example 3:
You take your first sick leave of the calendar year of 4 days in July, you take 4 days in September, and then you take 3 days in October. You are not required to provide a doctor’s certificate under any circumstances.
Example 4:
You take your first sick leave of the calendar year of 4 days in July, you take 4 days in September, and then you take 4 days in October. Your employer may require you to provide a doctor’s certificate for your October absence.
Example 5:
You take your first sick leave of the calendar year of 6 days in July. Your employer may require you to provide a doctor’s certificate for absence.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.
In solidarity,
Yudon Garie
Union Representative