Article 10 – Technical Clauses

All rights and benefits conferred upon employees by federal, provincial, or municipal laws are expressly incorporated in this Agreement except that, where the parties agree that this Agreement confers a superior right or benefit, such superior right or benefit shall prevail. If any law existing or hereafter enacted or if any decision of a court, board, or tribunal of competent jurisdiction shall invalidate any portion of this Agreement, then the remainder of the Agreement shall not be invalidated and the existing rights, privileges and obligations thereof shall remain in existence.

10.1.1

The parties agree that the terms and conditions of employment at the University regarding hours of work, overtime, public holidays and annual holidays are more favourable than those stated in The Saskatchewan Employment Act, as amended from time to time.

10.2.1

The Employer agrees to prepare an electronic version of the Agreement within a reasonable period of time following ratification of the Agreement. The Employer also agrees to provide the Association with two hundred printed copies for its own use, and printed copies to employees on request.

10.2.2

The Employer agrees to provide each new employee, at the time of the employee's appointment with a printed copy of this Agreement.

10.3.1

The parties agree that on receipt of a formal request or proposal by the Provincial Government concerning an amendment to The University of Saskatchewan Act, they will immediately inform the other party of the substance of the request or proposal and provide a copy when available.

10.3.2

The parties agree that if one of them proposes to submit a request to the Provincial Government concerning an amendment to The University of Saskatchewan Act, they will provide the substance of the proposed request to the other party prior to the submission to government.

10.3.3

The parties agree that they will forward to the other party a copy of any formal proposal or response that they submit to the Provincial Government concerning an amendment to The University of Saskatchewan Act, within seven days of making the submission.

10.4.1

All correspondence passing between the Employer and the Association arising out of this Agreement or incidental thereto shall be addressed to the President of the University and the Chair of the Association except for matters for which the President or the Chair of the Association has made a written delegation.

10.4.2

The Employer annually will inform the Association in writing at the September meeting of the Joint Committee for the Management of the Agreement whom the President has designated to act in the President's stead when the Collective Agreement says "President".

10.4.2.1

The Vice-President Academic and Provost may delegate any of the Vice-President Academic and Provost's duties under this Agreement to the Associate Vice-President Academic or Vice Provost, and shall inform the Association in writing of such delegation.

10.4.3

Internal mail service or email shall be considered adequate for ordinary purposes of notification.

10.4.4

Written notice shall be sent to an employee by prepaid registered mail to the last address supplied in writing by the employee in the event of the following: transfer of an employee, non-renewal of a probationary appointment, denial of tenure, suspension, severance, and dismissal.

10.5.1

The Employer agrees to provide the Association with reasonable office space, adequate telephone service, and reasonable use of the internal postal service of the University. A charge will be levied by the University for telephone and external postal services that are not otherwise paid for by the Association.

10.5.2

The Employer shall provide the Association, free of charge, with suitable meeting rooms on the Employer's premises for the conduct of Association business subject only to normal scheduling requirements and the payment of any extra costs that may be incurred in making special arrangements.

10.5.3

The Employer agrees that agents and representatives of the Association shall be permitted to conduct Association business on the premises of the University except when the University is closed during a strike or lock-out of the Association.

10.5.4

The Employer recognizes the right of employees to participate in the business of the Association and, accordingly, all employees shall be entitled to rearrangements in their normal duties, without loss of pay or benefits, for purposes of conducting the business of the Association, provided that satisfactory arrangements can be made with, and are approved by, the Department Head or Dean to fulfill the responsibilities of employees so engaged. Employees' service to the Association shall be a matter for consideration in the annual assessment of their work performance.

10.5.5

The Employer agrees that photocopying, printing and other reproduction services, computing facilities and audiovisual equipment of the University shall be available to the Association at current rates and subject to the normal scheduling arrangements.

10.5.6

The Employer agrees that the Association shall be entitled to have two observers on the Budget Committee of University Council, as well as such observers or representatives on other committees as is specified in this Agreement. Observers and representatives named by the Association shall be bound by the rules of confidentiality that apply to other committee members, except that such observers and representatives shall have the right to provide full information on the committee's procedures and deliberations to the Executive of the Association. The Executive of the Association shall respect the confidential nature of the information provided.

10.5.7

Observers and representatives of the Association shall receive agendas, minutes, documentation and all information that is made available to the members of the committee. Observers shall monitor the procedures followed and shall have the right to provide full information on the committee's procedures and deliberations to the Executive of the Association.

10.5.8

The Employer agrees that officers of the Association shall have the right to release time without loss of pay and benefits to attend conferences, seminars, etc., in connection with the affairs of the Association and trade union matters, generally, provided that satisfactory arrangements can be made with, and are approved by, the Department Head or Dean to fulfill the responsibilities of employees so engaged.

10.5.9

The Employer shall make $200,000 available annually to fund release time of designated Association representatives from assigned duties. The Employer agrees that representatives of the Association, designated by the Association, shall each have their normal assigned duties reduced to provide service to the Association without prejudice to their salaries, benefits, or any of their rights and privileges within the University. Disputes about the assignment of duties to these employees shall be referred for resolution to the Joint Committee for the Management of the Agreement.

10.5.10

The Employer agrees that in relation to Association business, the Association, its officials and its staff shall be free from search and seizure in their persons, their offices, their mail and electronic mail, their files and computer files, and their other records and effects; and that they shall be free from all forms of surveillance, electronic or otherwise, except as may be required by and in accordance with the procedures of the law.

10.5.11

Except where a serious allegation of misconduct involving computer use has been made against an employee, the employer agrees that the computer files and electronic mail and media of employees shall not be examined. The Association shall be made aware of any filtering of electronic mail and media for any purpose, including spam filtering.

All information provided for the purposes of this agreement shall be provided in both printed and agreed upon electronic formats.

10.6.1

The Employer agrees to provide the Association with the following information:

1. an annual list of all employees as of September 30, containing the name, month and year of birth, rank, sex, salary, type of appointment, dues deducted, department, and date of appointment of each employee;
2. a monthly list of the dues deducted for each employee;
3.  a monthly list of all new appointments of persons with faculty or librarian status with an explanation of why any new appointee should be excluded from the bargaining unit;
4. a monthly list of all terminations of employees or of all changes in the status or salary of employees;
5. an annual list by September 1 of all employees required to be considered for tenure, those employees who have elected to be considered for tenure, and all employees whose appointments are required to be considered for renewal of probation;
6. a copy of letters informing new employees of the award of University start-up research and equipment grants.

10.6.2

The parties agree to make available to each other upon written request and within a reasonable time thereafter, such information as is necessary for the administration of this Agreement provided it is not confidential and is reasonably available. Matters declared confidential must be clearly shown to be of a personal and private nature or necessarily withheld in the public or institutional interest. This article shall not limit access to confidential information as provided for in other articles of the Agreement. Any disagreement over confidentiality or availability of information shall be resolved by arbitration.

10.6.3

The parties agree to make available to each other, upon written request and within a reasonable time thereafter, such information as is necessary for negotiation of a Collective Agreement. Any dispute over what is necessary for the negotiation of a Collective Agreement shall be resolved by arbitration.

10.6.4

The Employer will provide the Association with reasonable access to member information via the Human Resources information system. Disputes regarding access to information shall be referred to the Joint Committee for the Management of the Agreement for resolution.

10.7.1

The parties agree that any proceeding or matter that has commenced prior to the date of ratification of this Agreement and that is affected by a provision of this Agreement shall, unless otherwise agreed by the two parties to this Agreement, or unless specifically provided for in the Agreement, be subject to the appropriate rules and procedures agreed to by the Employer and the Association as being in effect at the time that the matter was initiated and shall not be subject to the provisions of this Agreement.

10.8.1

The provisions of this Article do not apply to instruction during T3 (see Article 11.2).

10.8.2

The Employer shall not allow more than 30% of all credit units taught on campus during T1 and T2 to be taught by non-members of the Association.

10.8.3

The Employer shall provide the Association by November 15 of each year, a report, excluding courses identified as St. Thomas More Courses, off campus courses and courses for which there are no academic credit or grade assigned, for the preceding three years showing:

1. The proportion of courses and credit units taught in T1 and T2 by members and non-members of the Association including distribution by employment status of the instructor;
2. The distribution by type of instruction for members of the Association in T1 and T2;
3. The distribution by type of instruction for all instruction in T1 and T2.

10.8.4

In the event that the proportion of courses taught by non-members of the Association exceeds the proportion set out in Article 10.8.2, the Employer shall take steps to reduce the proportion of courses taught by non-members. Should the proportion be exceeded for two consecutive years, the mater shall be referred to the Joint Committee for the Management of the Agreement for resolution. In the absence of resolution at Joint Committee for the Management of the Agreement the matter shall be referred to an agreed upon arbitrator for the determination of damages, if any, to be awarded to the Association.

The parties recognize that scrupulous avoidance of any real, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest on collegial committees is essential to the preservation of the integrity and credibility of collegial processes.

It is not possible to enumerate all of the situations which could be construed as conflicts of interest; however, for the purposes of interpreting Article 10.9, the following definitions shall apply:

Personal relationship means any relationship to persons of a faculty member’s immediate family; any relationship of an intimate and/or financial and/or commercial nature either current or past; a student-supervisor relationship; or any other relationship that may give rise to a conflict of interest.

Conflict of interest mmeans a conflict between a faculty member’s duties and responsibilities with regard to collegial processes, and the faculty member’s private, professional, business, or public interests.

There may be a real, perceived, or potential conflict of interest when the faculty member:

1. would receive professional or personal benefit resulting from a collegial process; or
2. would have a direct or indirect financial interest in the outcome of a collegial process; or
3. would benefit from a decision being made with respect to a person with whom the faculty member has a personal relationship.

The responsibility for identifying conflict of interest rests with the Employer, the committee, and individual faculty member.

Anyone on a collegial committee perceiving such a conflict should raise the issue before the committee prior to engaging in a collegial process. Faculty members should be aware when they have a conflict of interest with respect to the outcome of a collegial process and shall withdraw from participating in the decision when they realize they have a conflict, or when a committee calls it to their attention.

Anyone on a collegial committee who identifies a real, potential, or perceived conflict of interest shall, as soon as possible, and prior to consideration of any question of substance, raise the issue before the committee and declare the nature and extent of the conflict.

The committee shall determine whether a conflict of interest sufficient to compromise the integrity of the collegial process exists. No later than one week following the determination, faculty member(s) who dispute the determination may make a written appeal to the Provost or designate, who shall decide the matter.

A faculty member who has a conflict of interest shall:

1. refrain from taking part in the collegial process; and
2. refrain from voting on the matter.

Committees have the right to rule members ineligible to participate in collegial processes described in:

• Article 13 (Appointments)
• Article 14 (Renewal of Probationary Appointments)
• Article 15 (Tenure)
• Article 16 (Promotion)
• Article 17 (Salary Review Procedures)
• Article 18 (Ranks and Salaries)
• Article 20 (Sabbatical Leave)

Where any provision of this agreement provides for a collegial meeting in a department or college, participation by employees in such meeting shall be by personal attendance or by simultaneous audio and/or video technological means that provide for full collegial participation by all employees.