Many of us have worked for decades on the understanding that we have a sick plan and would be paid for a portion of unused sick days when we retire. We believed the City’s promise.
I find it hard to believe that many of you were operating on a belief when you have a signed contract. Regardless, you do have a sick plan, if you are sick you are paid. Very few of us have that kind of plan!
The payout for accumulated sick days – which has stringent rules – is the only severance we receive when we retire from the City of Toronto, if we are eligible.
Again, I do not support the idea of accumulating sick days in order to have them “paid out” at a certain point. If you are sick those days are there, if you are not (sick) then move along they are not your days. When you retire you have a pension to live on. And although I am not sure, I imagine the CUPE pension is far better than the on I’ll be getting!
Local 416 and Local 79 members can only get paid sick time after six months of
employment.
So what’s your point? Most companies have wait times before benefits kick in. Why should the taxpayers of Toronto pay someone for sick days within the first 6 months of employment?
In Local 79, only full-time city workers have a payout provision. Members in the
city’s homes for the aged have paid sick days with no payout.
I am sure you have guessed my position on this one. The full-time city workers are lucky and two wrongs do not make a right!
About 10,000 part-time child care, public health, hostel and recreation workers
have no paid sick days at all. Local 79 has been trying for a decade to improve
this situation. Now we are fighting just to hold on to what is already there for
some members.
As a private sector employee I never had paid sick days. However, my employer used to manage sick days on a case-by-case basis. Having said that, I have no problem agreeing to a limited number of paid sick days, however no accumulation. Again these days are not earned by an employee they are a benefit. No one asks to accumulate other benefits like massage or dental coverage. Let’s just add up the benefits I did not use and then have them paid out to me!
You would have to work for 15 years without taking one sick day to earn the
maximum payout after 25 years of service. That means no illness, no having to
stay home to take care of a sick child or an ailing parent for 15 years.
Again, your point is? I think it is great that you can call in “sick” and then stay home and care for your child or parent. That is an amazing benefit that most of us do not share.
Full-time workers in Local 79 and Local 416 must work 10 years before they are
eligible for any payout. The percentage of banked sick days that will be paid
and the maximum to which they will be paid grows with the number of years of
service.
This is an awesome benefit that they should be grateful for. However, spreading this across CUPE is unrealistic and not something I am willing to pay for.
The proposal made by the city to replace our current provisions is a substandard
short-term disability plan.
Like most employees I think you should be offered a reasonable package either paid by your employer or a co-pay plan. If the STD plan is substandard then fight for a good one, which I am and I believe most Torontonians would get behind.
To wrap this up, if you want support then fight for something we can get behind. You have great jobs and you are paid well. The odds of you ever getting fired are slim. Your sick day requests are, simply, unacceptable.
I just watched this video on Global’s website. Ann Dembinski needs a wake up call. Her comments, referring to the Mayor, “if he has time to discuss the details of bargaining with 3 million Torontonians he should get himself to the bargaining table”. What was that Ann? The Mayor is obligated to inform us, the people who pay your salary and clearly he has been at the table. After hearing Ann I have even less support for CUPE.
When I walk past the CUPE workers with signs that say “We work for you Toronto”. I want to yell then get back to work! I do not want to pay you for accumulated days that you have not earned. I am willing to provide a fair and reasonable insurance plan that covers you if you get sick. But shake your collective head. No one gets accumulated sick days. You either use your insurance or you don’t and most of us hope we don’t! Now GET BACK TO WORK!
1 comment:
- completely agree with the childish demands for the regular workers, as for the citizens that have worked the ten over years, they should be elegiable for the contract they signed. But really, parking attendants work as hard as everyother university student and. They accept the fact of their abilities and qualifications. Its a job like all others and deserve no higher benefits,especially just because they are part of some sector. daycare and community workers also enter the job knowing the demand and ask for payoutsick days for what? They need to be applauded for not getting sick? At times I argur coppers getting a payout every cycle, and the fuckn 6/5 and 4 days off every 7 days on! Excuse my language but they all take it for granted. While they complain how driving around all day writing tickets and keeping the peace is sooo diffucult. They never solve anything, their only use is to look bigger and to boss people around to 'keep the peace' but they are lazy arrogant beings that break all the rules because they can get away with it.
Soo, noone can fight for payouts, its called a sick day, don't make it complicated because you are that selffish. Payout those that have fulfilled their years and then eliminate the issue and get back to work. But hey, its been a month, you are loosing your morgage payments not us. Maybe help the abused children, men and women while you are standing around doing nothing but disturbing the peace of every loyal worker trying to get to work !
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