Bulletin
BC Hydro & Powertech – GRIEVANCE UPDATE: Scheduling Medical and Dental Appointments and RWWL Days
May 23, 2024
To: All MoveUP members at BCH & Powertech
The union issued a bulletin on November 8, 2023, regarding Article 15.09 Medical and Dental Appointments. At that time, the union held concerns with respect to BC Hydro’s application of Article15.09. Through the assistance of third-party mediator, we are satisfied that there was no intentional violation of the collective agreement by BC Hydro.
We have worked with BC Hydro to seek clarity around Article 15.09 and are issuing this bulletin to ensure all members have sufficient information regarding its application.
We provide the following guidance regarding Article 15.09:
i. All employees should be scheduling 17 RWWL days by March 31 each year (unless you elect to have these days paid out). Generally, employees should not be holding back a RWWL day(s) unless you have bona fide reason to do so (e.g. an upcoming medical appointment that hasn’t been scheduled) and in these circumstances you will work with your manager to schedule the RWWL day(s) for a later date.
ii. You don’t have to move your RWWL days that are already scheduled to obtain Article 15.09 time.
iii. BC Hydro does not require an employee to use a particular medical practitioner to obtain Article 15.09 time.
iv. Recurring appointments, such as weekly doctor, chiropractic, physiotherapy, or massage appointments do not qualify under Article 15.09 to use work time and are expected to be scheduled on the employee’s own time, either using RWWL days/hours or scheduled outside working hours.
v. Managers are expected to use judgement in administering Article 15.09. There may be unique circumstances where a recurring appointment you have may qualify for article 15.09 provided that all other conditions of the Article 15.09 are met. If you have a recurring appointment, and you feel you may qualify under Article 15.09, you should discuss this with your manager and/or the Union.
vi. If you do not qualify for paid time under Article 15.09, employees have alternative options to attend medical and dental appointments during work hours. For example, an employee may request to use another bank to cover the appointment time (such as their overtime bank under Article 11.02(d)). We encourage you discuss these options with your manager.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the scheduling of medical or dental appointments that are not addressed in this bulletin, please contact a job steward, or reach out to a union representative for assistance by emailing them directly or at bchmail@moveuptogether.ca.
In solidarity,
Alina Teymory, Union Representative
Mike Novak, Union Representative
Ronnie Ho, Union Representative
Paul Voykin, Union Representative
Richard Van Grol, Union Representative
Cheryl Popeniuk, Senior Union Representative