Your Guild executive met with Shaw management late last week for the first joint committee meeting since we reached our new agreement in the summer. We talked about the importance of improving communications, both between the union and management and also between all of you and your managers.

The union also raised concerns about the ?Merit Pay? process the company rolled out in September, just after we concluded the collective agreement. We are certainly not opposed to members receiving additional pay beyond the rates in the collective agreement. We do want to ensure that the criteria for merit pay are clear to everyone so that you know how the decisions will be made the next time Shaw looks at merit pay, expected next September. If you have any questions about it, please talk to your manager. If you have any concerns, don’t hesitate to talk to any one of us or to contact Terri Monture (terri@cmg.ca) at the Guild office.

We also asked that more information about the company pension plan be shared with employees. As you know, the company is now contributing an amount equal to 5% of salary to the pension savings of all employees in the bargaining unit with at least one year of service. You have the option of contributing up to 5% more.

On a final note, our new collective agreement requires employees to provide a doctor’s note if they are absent for three consecutive days. Shaw management has assured us that all supervisors and managers will be made aware of this new provision as soon as possible. If you have any concerns about sick leave, please get in touch with the union.

Our next joint committee meeting is scheduled for January. As always, if you have any questions or want to discuss anything, please talk to any one of us.

Mike Duong, Shaw branch president
Christopher Beesley
Brent Tennant
Terri Monture, CMG staff rep