Bulletin
ICBC – 2023 Vacation Scheduling
July 28, 2022
To: All MoveUP members at ICBC Claims Adjusters (including Out-of-Province Claims and Commercial Claims), Customer Claims Specialist – Field Operations only (excluding Out-of-Province Claims), Supervisors Telephone Claims, Call Centre Coordinators, Customer Service Adjusters, (CCC), Claims Contact Representatives at the Claims Contact Support Unit Centre (CCSU), Broker Enquiry Representatives, AP and Driver Services Representatives at the Broker Inquiry Unit (BEU), Support and Recovery Specialists and Senior Support and Recovery Specialists, Customer Contact Representatives I, at Driver Testing & Vehicle Information (DTVI), Customer Contact Representatives II, Customer Contact Representatives III at Insurance Customer Service (ICS), Customer Contact Representatives I, Customer Contact Representatives II, Customer Contact Representatives III (DLCCV & DLAUXDLCC)
2023 Vacation Scheduling Process
Over the past 2 months we have been engaged in conversation with your employer regarding the terms of this year’s vacation LOU, relating to booking vacation for 2023.
Attached to this bulletin is an LOU regarding how you will bid for your 2023 vacation. We encourage everyone to take the time to read the LOU. This iteration is the same as last year’s version but with dates updated to reflect the current year.
Why is an LOU Required?
As per your employer, Article 15 is no longer adequate for scheduling vacation for large groups. Given their provincial scheduling model, which allows for a more even distribution of work, vacation must be scheduled in larger groups. This LOU covers approximately 1600 employees and provides for 4 different rounds for bids to be placed.
Also included in this LOU is a pilot project between MoveUP and ICBC that began in 2017 for telephone call-outs. We have found this to be the most efficient and effective system for vacation booking, however, ICBC expressed concerns about expanding telephone call-outs at this time.
What You Have Told Us About the Vacation Bid Process in the Past
The biggest complaint we have heard about bidding vacation is that members can’t see what senior people have bid and therefore they feel they are ‘bidding blind.’ We have continued to emphasize this to your employer.
Conversations with your Employer
When your employer approached the union this year to negotiate the LOU, they were seeking several concessions including:
- Removal of job steward oversight to process
- Change to how those returning from LTD access vacation (only booking from what’s available upon their return)
- Removal of Customer Claims Specialists from Provincial Scheduling and instead have them bidding within their work units (meaning groups sorted by manager). This would require further discussions between the parties to ensure it does not contravene past arbitral decision around location sorting).
We disagreed that these changes were appropriate, and we sought instead to expand the direct calling project. However, your employer expressed concerns with expanding the direct calling pilot project at this time. We expect that changes to the vacation scheduling process may be raised by your employer in collective bargaining. Therefore, no concessions were made and the LOU signed only includes changes to dates.
Vacation Bid Deadlines
For your information, this year the schedule will be as follows:
Round 1 (first Selection) – October 20, 2022;
Round 2 (second Selection) – November 3, 2022;
Round 3 (third Selection) – November 17, 2022; and
Round 4 (fourth and successive Selections) – November 24, 2022
What’s Next
We will continue to engage with your employer on this topic as we plan for next year (and future years).
If you have any questions please contact scolliss@moveuptogether.ca.
In solidarity
Sara Colliss, Union Representative