Wage Equity Update #16 -- PDF Version

April 15^th , 2004 

On March 31, 2004, the Policy & Procedures Committee met to review Wage Equity Update #15 and provide feedback and alternatives. 

Because we came up with a significant change in the wages and benefits plan from the proposal in the Wage Equity Update, we thought we should provide this bulletin to provide you with the final plan and the implementation details before implementing the changes in May. For details on the discussions at the policy & procedures meeting, see the minutes at: http://www.spectrumsociety.org/policy/Document%20Library/1/policyminutes033104.htm

1. Wage Increase to $16.00 / hour for Community Support Workers:  This will be implemented effective April 24, 2004.

2. Wage increases based on number of hours worked: Raises will now be based on the completion of 1,500 hours of work.  This should improve the process of getting a raise, and will give many people raises sooner than the old method.  This has been implemented effective March 24, 2004.  On your paystub, there is a line below your vacation accrual that says PayHours.  This represents the hours worked from January 2001 to April 8, 2004.  28 employees were given raises immediately based on the fact that they had reached one of the wage tiers (1,500 hours, 3,000 hours or 4,500 hours).  We used January 2001 as our starting point because that is when we started using the current payroll program and going back further would be very time-consuming.  There are no employees who have worked continuously since before January 2001 who have not achieved the three year (4,500 hour) level.

3. Medical Services Plan coverage: Effective May 1, 2004, all employees will pay $54 per month ($27 per cheque) of their Medical Services Plan coverage.  If you think you may qualify for premium assistance, contact Dori at the Spectrum office for an application form and more information: Dori.Jaffe@SpectrumSociety.org

4. Group RRSP: Spectrum will maintain the three tiers of our current Group RRSP plan:

To get a Group RRSP application form, call the office.  To raise your current RRSP contribution, just put it in writing (paper or email) and send to paystub@spectrumsociety.org