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HomeMy WebLinkAboutUnion 24-10-21IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION brought pursuant to the Ontario Labour Relations Act, 1995, as amended, (Grievance #2023-0448-0005) BETWEEN: PATHWAYS TO INDEPENDENCE (the “Employer”) - and - ONTARIO PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYEES UNION/SYNDICAT DES EMPLOYÉS DE LA FONCTION PUBLIQUE DE L’ONTARIO, LOCAL 448 (the “Union”) AWARD Arbitrator: Marilyn A. Nairn Hearing held (by videoconference): October 8, 2024 APPEARANCES For the Employer: Colin Youngman For the Union: Emily Cumbaa 1 AWARD [1] This grievance alleges that severance pay, payable pursuant to Article 45 of the collective agreement between the parties, should be calculated as including the $3.00/hour permanent wage enhancement provided to eligible employees pursuant to the Supporting Retention in Public Services Act, 2022 (“SRPSA”). [2] The parties filed an Agreed Statement of Facts (“ASF”) with accompanying documentary materials. No further evidence was called. There is no dispute as to my jurisdiction to hear and determine the grievance. The ASF provides: THE PARTIES AND GRIEVANCE 1. The Employer is a non-profit developmental services organization that has congregate care settings and provides supports to individuals in and around Belleville and Ottawa. 2. The Union is the exclusive bargaining agent for all full-time and part-time employees save and except supervisors and persons above the rank of supervisors and students employed during a regular vacation period. 3. The Union and Employer are parties to a collective agreement. A copy of the Collective Agreement, with a term from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2024, is appended hereto at Tab 1. a) Article 3 of the Collective Agreement addresses management rights. b) Article 5 of the Collective Agreement addresses pay administration. c) Article 45 of the Collective Agreement addresses severance payments. d) Classification and wages are set out in a grid within “Appendix A” of the Collective Agreement. e) The Collective Agreement also includes Letter of Understanding #5: Wage Increases, which provides as follows: Should the Ministry, prior to March 31, 2024, provide additional funding which, as a condition of receiving the funding, is required to be paid as wage increases, the parties agree to meet within thirty (30) days solely for the purpose of negotiating an increase to wages. The parties undertake to negotiate in good faith and shall make every reasonable effort to reach a settlement. 4. The Union filed grievance #2023-0448-0005, dated April 27, 2023, alleging that the Employer has failed to properly pay severance payments following the implementation 2 of the permanent wage enhancement. A copy of that grievance is appended hereto at Tab 2. 5. The grievance was referred to arbitration and Arbitrator Marilyn Nairn was appointed to hear the grievance. The parties agree that there is no objection to Arbitrator Nairn’s jurisdiction to hear and determine the grievance. ISSUE 6. The parties agree that the issue to be determined is whether the permanent compensation enhancement should be included in the calculation of severance payments. FACTS 7. In April 2020, the Government of Ontario announced a Temporary Pandemic Pay Program for eligible frontline workers in eligible workplaces. Effective April 21, 2020, direct support workers in social services were eligible for a temporary pandemic pay of up to $4.00 per hour in addition to their regular wages. This program was implemented pursuant to Ontario Regulation 241/20. 8. In October 2020, the Government of Ontario announced a Temporary Wage Enhancement Program for personal support workers and direct support workers in home and community care, long-term care, hospital, and social services. Eligible workers in eligible workplaces would receive a temporary wage increase of up to $3.00 per hour in addition to their regular wages. This program began October 1, 2020 and was extended to bridge into the permanent wage enhancement. 9. The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (“MCCSS”) issued guidelines for the administration of the program. These guidelines were updated from time to time. 10. In April 2022, the Government of Ontario implemented a Permanent Compensation Enhancement Program pursuant to the Supporting Retention in Public Services Act, 2022, S.O. 2022, c. 11, Sched. 7. Like the temporary wage enhancement program, the permanent wage enhancement program granted eligible employees in home and community care, long-term care, hospital, and social services a wage enhancement of up to $3.00 per hour. A copy of the Act, effective April 14, 2022, is appended hereto at Tab 3. 11. Effective April 21, 2022, Ontario Regulation 413/22 references the document “Personal Support Workers and Direct Support Workers Permanent Compensation Enhancement Program”, which sets out the eligibility requirements. The MCCSS issued guidelines for the administration of the program. These guidelines are updated from time to time. A 3 copy of the Regulation, effective April 21, 2022, is appended hereto at Tab 4 and a copy of the Guidelines, as updated on November 4, 2022, is appended hereto at Tab 5. 12. In addition, the MCCSS also issued Guidelines for the Administration of the Personal Support Workers and Direct Support Workers Permanent Compensation Enhancement Program. These Administrative Guidelines provide that Employers are reimbursed for the increases in costs associated with the compensation enhancement. Pathways has not requested or been reimbursed for costs associated with severance payments under Article 45 of the Collective Agreement. A copy of the Administration Guidelines is appended hereto at Tab 6. 13. On November 18, 2022, the parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the permanent wage enhancement program. The Memorandum sets out the eligible job classifications and application of the program and provided for payment retroactive to April 21, 2022. A copy of that Memorandum is appended hereto at Tab 7. 14. Since the parties signed the Memorandum of Understanding, approximately 14 individuals who occupied eligible job classifications have ceased to be employees. The Employer has not included the $3 per hour permanent wage enhancement in the calculation of severance payments for those individuals, instead using their hourly wage rate in “Appendix A” of the Collective Agreement. 15. On April 27, 2023, the Union filed grievance #2023-0448-0005. The parties had a step meeting on June 15, 2023. On July 24, 2023, the Employer denied the grievance, finding there was no breach of the Collective Agreement or any other applicable legislation. [3] The Supporting Retention in Public Services Act, 2022 provides, inter alia: Funding 2 (1) For the purpose of supporting the provision of public services, a Minister may provide funding for employers to enhance the compensation paid to employees of the employer. Use of Funding 4 (1) Funding received by an employer under this Act shall be used to enhance the compensation paid to employees of the employer in accordance with the terms of the compensation enhancement program under which the funding is provided. … Regulations 11 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act. Compensation enhancement programs … Same 4 (3) A regulation may set out the eligibility requirements and terms of a compensation enhancement program or may incorporate them by reference from a document as the document may be amended from time to time. [4] The document titled “Personal Support Workers and Direct Support Workers Permanent Compensation Enhancement Program” prescribed by Regulation 413/22 speaks to eligibility for the program across various health care sectors but does not delineate other program terms. [5] The Guidelines for the administration of the permanent compensation enhancement program, referred to in paragraph 12 of the ASF, are not prescribed. They were generated by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (“MCCSS”) and apply to MCCSS-funded organizations, which includes this Employer. The MCCSS Guidelines provide: 1.0 PRINCIPLES … The goal of the Program is to support organizations to hire and retain these workers by offering a competitive wage that recognizes their vital role in providing health and social services across the province. The permanent wage enhancement will help to stabilize, attract, and retain the workforce needed to provide a high level of care during the COVID-19 pandemic and to continue these important supports in the long-term recovery from the pandemic. … 4.1 Program Administration Eligible workers will receive $3 per hour compensation enhancement for all paid hours. … Employers will be reimbursed for the incremental increase in the cost of employer contributions to CPP, EI, EHT and WSIB as well as the incremental increase in the cost of providing statutory entitlements (e.g., holiday pay, paid sick days, vacation pay, or overtime, if applicable) in accordance with the Employment Standards Act or any applicable collective agreement(s). These amounts are included in the payment and can be adjusted through the budget submission and contracting process. Discretionary benefits (i.e., LTIP, life insurance, drug, dental and vision care), as well as any other incremental increases can be adjusted through the budget submission and contracting process. Please note discretionary benefits were not included as part of the temporary wage enhancement. If employers incur any costs related to discretionary benefits, employers are encouraged to contact their ministry representative and provide necessary supporting documentation including applicable collective agreement(s) through the budget submission and contracting process. If approved by the ministry, the discretionary benefits will be included in your funding for the Program. … 5 [6] Article 45 of the collective agreement provides: 45.01 An employee, who has completed a minimum of one (1) year of continuous service with Pathways and who ceases to be an employee because of; (i) death, (ii) retirement, (iii) permanent lay-off, or (iv) resignation is entitled to the following severance pay: … 2. Those full and part-time Pathways employees hired after February 17th, 1997 shall receive one (1) week' s regular pay for each year of continuous service. Such termination pay shall not exceed twenty- six (26) weeks' regular pay. [7] The Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between the parties that pertains to the implementation of the permanent wage enhancement program provides, in part: Whereas the Ontario government passed legislation Supporting Retention in the Public Services Act and the supporting Ontario Regulation 413/22: Personal Support Workers and Direct Support Workers on April 21, 2022. This Regulation outlines a targeted permanent compensation enhancement program for eligible Personal Support and Direct Support Workers in the Health and Community Services Sectors; And whereas the parties operating in good faith wish to set out the terms under which the Employer’s employees shall be paid further to this Program; … The Parties agree that the Permanent compensation enhancement program applies to all paid hours, including vacation days, statutory holidays, overtime and sick time, and is a part of pensionable earnings. … The Employer agrees to pay eligible current employees the difference between “paid hours” as defined above and direct hours worked by the employee and paid under the Temporary Wage Enhancement Program that did not include vacation, statutory holidays, sick time and was not part of pensionable earnings, as required under the Permanent Wage Compensation Enhancement Program... … The Parties agree as follows: 1. The Parties agree to continue [the] Permanent Compensation Wage Enhancement Program in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Program as amended from time to time for as long as the Program is fully funded by the government. 6 2. In the event that the funds in the Program are discontinued or redirected by the government, the wages will immediately revert back to the rates for those eligible classifications set out in Appendix A: Wages & Classifications of the Collective Agreement. 3. Nothing in this Memorandum is intended to imply that the PWE forms part of the collective agreement. For clarity, the parties agree that the PWE will not become part of the wage grid in the collective agreement. Submissions of the Parties [8] The parties referred me to the following authorities: • Trillium Health Partners v Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 5180, 2021 CanLII 49776 (ON LA) (Randazzo); • Community Living Mississauga v OPSEU Local 251, 2023 CanLII 110239 (ON LA) (Waddingham); • Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 786 v St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, 2022 CanLII 73881 (ON LA) (Nyman); • Hampton Terrace Care Centre v Canadian Union of Public Employees and its Local 5173, 2023 CanLII 106643 (ON LA) (Albertyn); • Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1748 v County of Northumberland (Golden Plough Lodge), 2023 CanLII 113227 (ON LA) (Schmidt); • Atco Lumber Ltd. v. IWA-Canada, Local 1-405, 2004 CarswellBC 2935 (Hall); • Cambridge Memorial Hospital v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1 Canada, 2011 CanLII 1790 (ON LA) (Surdykowski) • Ontario Nurses’ Association v Grand River Hospital Corporation, 2019 CanLII 86451 (ON LA) (Anderson); and • Ontario Power Generation and Society of Energy Professionals, 2013 CanLII 70432 (ON LA) (Surdykowski) [9] While agreeing to the fundamental principles of contract interpretation, the parties disagreed as to their appropriate application in the circumstances. [10] The Union relied on the words “regular pay” in Article 45 of the collective agreement to argue that severance pay properly included the wage enhancement amount. The amount was intended to enhance compensation for eligible employees, argued the Union, and was payable for all paid hours. [11] The Union reviewed provisions of the collective agreement to note that various terms had been used by the parties to refer to and identify compensation, including the words “wages”, “hourly rate”, “wage grid”, “salary”, “gross pay”, and “regular pay”. It argued that, while not forming part of the wage grid, the enhancement amount was properly included as part of the monies “regularly” paid to eligible employees. The term “regular pay” was used in relation to holiday pay and vacation pay when computing those amounts in distinction from identifying one’s basic hourly rate, argued the Union. Different terms must be understood to have different 7 meanings, argued the Union, referring to the decisions in Cambridge Memorial Hospital and Grand River Hospital Corp., both supra. [12] The MOU also supported a broad interpretation to be given the term “regular pay”, argued the Union, as the parties agreed that the wage enhancement applied to all paid hours, referring to more than simply the wage rates set out in the wage grid and more than simply hours worked. While in a different context, in both the Hampton Terrace Care Centre and County of Northumberland decisions, supra, the “base wage” was found to include the wage enhancement, supporting a similar interpretive inclusion in “regular pay”, argued the Union. [13] As the SRPSA was benefit-conferring legislation, it should be given a broad and liberal interpretation, argued the Union. If there was any ambiguity as to entitlement, it should be resolved in favour of the party claiming the benefit, argued the Union, referring to the decisions in Trillium Health Partners, supra, at paras. 24 – 27 and St. Joseph’s Healthcare, supra, at paras. 56-58. [14] As well, argued the Union, severance pay was an earned benefit in recognition of service that has been rendered. It was earned and notionally banked throughout one’s employ, argued the Union, referring to the decision in Atco Lumber Ltd, supra. [15] In contrast, the Employer looked to both the temporary and permanent compensation enhancement programs as being expressly intended to promote and support the hiring and retention of front-line staff during and following the pandemic. The SRPSA is titled “Supporting Retention”, noted the Employer. It referred to the Principles set out in the Guidelines (at para. 5 above), arguing that an intention of enhancing compensation in order to hire and retain staff was the opposite of making monies available to be paid on a separation from employment. [16] The SRPSA is clear that this funding is to be used in accordance with the terms of the wage enhancement program, argued the Employer, which terms are dictated by the government documents. The permanent program was expanded in scope, increasing its application from “hours worked” to “hours paid”. While there is reference to reimbursement for “discretionary benefits” and/or the incremental increase in the “cost of providing statutory entitlements…in accordance with the [ESA] or any applicable collective agreement(s)”, there is no express reference to severance pay in the documents, noted the Employer. [17] The Employer argued that the Guidelines refer to the reimbursement of the incremental costs of providing “statutory entitlements” whether under the ESA or a collective agreement. It argued that this language did not include “any” entitlement under the terms of a collective agreement, which agreements often provide a greater benefit that that conferred by the ESA. [18] Article 45 of the collective agreement has nothing to do with retention and provides for the payment of severance pay more broadly than either the ESA requirement or many collective agreements, argued the Employer, arguably giving rise to an incentive to leave employment. 8 Calculating severance pay as including the wage enhancement amount would run counter to government guidelines and to the clear legislative intention and purpose of the wage enhancement program, argued the Employer. [19] “Regular pay” is not defined in the collective agreement, noted the Employer. However, Article 19.07 (holiday pay), Article 39.12 (PT vacation); and Articles 44.05, 44.06 and 44.07 (sick leave) each refer to “regular pay”, and each are also expressly considered in the MOU as having the wage enhancement added to those entitlements, noted the Employer. Through the MOU the parties specifically turned their minds to the future application of the wage enhancement program and the issue of “hours worked” versus “hours paid”, yet did not say that the wage enhancement would apply to the payment of severance pay either retroactively or in the future, argued the Employer. [20] The MOU defined the circumstances where the wage enhancement would be included as “paid hours”, argued the Employer, and included vacation, overtime, sick time, and holiday pay (but not severance), mirroring the language of the Guidelines, noted the Employer. That is duplicated in the provision for retroactivity under the permanent program that expressly included only these same entitlements as part of paid hours, retroactively to the effective date of the permanent program, it argued. [21] Article 45, also referencing “regular pay”, is not included in the MOU, supporting the interpretation that the parties agreed that the wage enhancement amount was not to be included in the calculation of severance pay, argued the Employer. Article 45 can only have reference to wages paid under the collective agreement which are known not to include the wage enhancement funds, argued the Employer. [22] The Employer argued that to confer a monetary benefit in the collective agreement, clear language is required, relying on paras. 20-22 of the decision in Ontario Power Generation, supra. Article 45 does not clearly provide that the wage enhancement amounts are to be included as part of “regular pay” and are thereby properly excluded, argued the Employer. [23] As well, argued the Employer, the MOU expressly states that the wage enhancement does not form part of the collective agreement and/or the wage grid; that wages in Appendix A of the collective agreement are not to be amended by the amount of the wage enhancement. There is nothing therefore, argued the Employer, that would allow the wage enhancement to be added to the wage rate. Rather, it argued, including the wage enhancement amount in the calculation of “regular pay” would be to expand the meaning of that term and inappropriately add to the collective agreement. [24] In reply, the Union disagreed that enhancing severance pay was contrary to the purpose of the legislation as it reflected compensation for services rendered, but on a deferred basis. It noted that Article 45 spoke to more than voluntary departures and included permanent lay-offs, a matter captured by statutory entitlements under the ESA. Recognition that the wage 9 enhancement does not form part of the wage grid does not speak to whether it is included in “regular pay”, it argued. [25] The Union argued that, in the MOU, the parties agreed that the program applied to “all paid hours, including” holiday, vacation and pensionable earnings. That was permissive, not exclusionary or restrictive language, argued the Union, and the fact that severance was not specifically addressed does not mean it is not included. Similarly, the retroactive payment was applicable only to current employees and would not have applied to anyone who had left and received severance before the MOU came into effect, noted the Union. [26] Finally, while the Employer relied on paragraph 3 of the MOU, the Union relied on paragraph 2, which acknowledged that, if the program was discontinued, “wages will… revert back to the rates…set out in Appendix A…”. The Union argued that the parties understood and acknowledged that the enhancement affected the “wages” of eligible workers. Rather than expanding the collective agreement, including the wage enhancement in the calculation of severance pay gives force to the agreement of the parties, argued the Union. Decision [27] This is a case of first impression and none of the authorities provided address the issue. I have therefore set out the parties’ submissions in some detail. The case is also fundamentally a matter of collective agreement interpretation. [28] The permanent wage enhancement program is intended to enhance the ability of eligible employers to hire and retain eligible employees. Consideration of an enhanced payment of severance pay may seem counter-intuitive to that program’s purpose. However, my role is not to interpret and apply the terms of that program. My task is to interpret and apply the terms of the collective agreement. At issue here is Article 45 of the collective agreement which provides for the payment of severance pay in any of four circumstances; death, retirement, permanent lay-off, or resignation. [29] The proposition in OPG, supra, that entitlement to a monetary benefit must be derived from clear collective agreement language is reflected in the words of Article 45 that clearly stipulate employees “shall receive” one week’s regular pay for each year of continuous service (to a maximum of 26 weeks) on a recognized departure from employment. The issue here is not with establishing entitlement to the monetary benefit but with the appropriate calculation of that entitlement. [30] That falls to be determined based on the proper interpretation of the words “regular pay” in Article 45. (I simply note that Article 45 of the collective agreement includes circumstances that involve both non-voluntary (permanent layoff) and voluntary (resignation and retirement) departures from 10 employment, with the former potentially triggering a statutory entitlement under the ESA, while the latter typically do not. While titled “Severance Payments”, Article 45 also appears to refer to severance pay and termination pay interchangeably, even while those terms reference different ESA entitlements.) [31] Looking to the collective agreement, the parties agree that “regular pay” is not defined. The term appears in Article 19.07 of the collective agreement in relation to the payment of part- time holiday pay as 4% of gross pay (not including vacation pay) that “shall be added to the part- time employee’s regular pay to compensate for the holidays…”. If a part-time employee is scheduled to work on a holiday they are to receive two times their basic hourly rate for all hours worked in addition to the 4%. [32] Article 39.12 of the collective agreement stipulates that 4% of gross pay “shall be added to the part-time employee’s regular pay in lieu of vacation leave with pay”. [33] Article 44.05 of the collective agreement requires that deductions for insurance coverage and pension contributions “that would be made from regular pay”, be similarly deducted from the payment of sick leave. Article 44 also identifies an entitlement to “regular salary” or a portion thereof as paid sick leave. [34] Article 44.06 of the collective agreement provides that an employee in receipt of sick leave at 75% of “regular salary” is entitled to use credits from their accumulated sick bank to top up that payment in order to “receive regular pay”. Similarly, Article 44.07 stipulates that an employee who is absent due to sickness in excess of the period of short-term sick leave coverage shall have accumulated attendance credits reduced (utilized) so the employee “shall receive regular pay”. [35] None of these provisions address what is included in “regular pay”. Appendix A of the collective agreement sets out classifications and a corresponding wage grid where wages are expressed as hourly rates. The hours of work provision at Article 7 of the collective agreement sets out “normal hours of work” for different groups of employees (Schedule A employees, Schedule B employees, and employees on a compressed work week). The “normal hours of work” are variously described by hours per day, hours per week, or hours per shift. Articles 7.04 and 7.05 refer to “weekly salary” being adjusted based on one’s “basic hourly rate”. [36] Taken together, wages expressed as hourly rates combined with normal hours of work would generally reflect one’s “regular pay”, that is, what an employee typically receives for having worked the usual hours at the assigned wage rate in any given pay period. The ordinary meaning of the words “regular pay” would indicate an employee’s typical or usual earnings. “Regular pay” generally represents the result of multiplying the normal hours of work with the appropriate hourly rate for the work being performed. 11 [37] It would also typically exclude ‘extra’ payments arising from circumstances such as working overtime or other premiums that are not attributable to an employee’s ‘normal’ hours of work. The determination of one’s ‘regular pay’ is based on a review of the compensation received over a period of time in light of the employee’s particular work circumstances, having regard to the terms of the applicable collective agreement. [38] Does the MOU between the parties provide any clarity as to the term “regular pay” as used in the collective agreement? The parties each rely on a different statement in the MOU. Paragraph 2 of the MOU stipulates that if the permanent wage enhancement funds are discontinued, “wages will immediately revert back to the rates…in Appendix A” of the collective agreement. This indicates that the parties take the view that, while available, “wages” include the permanent wage enhancement amount. Otherwise there would be no need for wages to revert should that government funding no longer be available. [39] Paragraph 3 of the MOU stipulates that the permanent wage enhancement does not form part of the collective agreement and specifically, that the enhancement will not become part of the wage grid. That is consistent with paragraph 2 in that the permanent wage enhancement is a funding amount that, if discontinued by the government, does not become an independent ongoing liability to the Employer as having been incorporated into the collective agreement. [40] The MOU expressly states that the permanent wage enhancement program applies to all paid hours. That includes hours worked, as well as hours paid but not worked, such as vacation, holidays, or sick leave. These entitlements (payable when not working) are based on “regular pay” - what the employee would have earned had they been working in the normal course. [41] By expressly referencing those benefits in the MOU, and consistent with the statement in paragraph 2 of the MOU, the parties have effectively acknowledged that the permanent wage enhancement is included as part of “regular pay”. If regular pay under the collective agreement (contemplating pay for time worked) was intended not to include the wage enhancement amount, there would have been no need to, or interest in acknowledging that it applied with respect to the calculation of holiday pay, vacation pay, and sick leave which are based on one’s regular pay. Put differently, the parties did not stipulate that “regular pay” under the collective agreement was not to include the permanent wage enhancement amount. [42] I am not persuaded that the first sentence in paragraph 3 of the MOU indicates a different result. Acknowledging that the calculation of “regular pay” as required by the collective agreement includes the amount representative of the permanent wage enhancement does not constitute an amendment or alteration of the collective agreement or make the wage enhancement amount part of the wage grid. The calculation of “regular pay” is determined having regard to the compensation amount an employee has been receiving as regular payment for the work they are performing. There is nothing inherently contradictory in recognizing the wage enhancement amount as part of regular pay, particularly when the collective agreement is 12 silent as to its definition. Failing to include that amount would be inaccurate in relation to the pay eligible employees are regularly receiving during the ongoing operation of the program. [43] That is also consistent with the parties’ agreement in the MOU that the permanent wage enhancement applies to “all paid hours, including”, those specifically delineated. That language is inclusive and non-exhaustive. Severance pay is an earned, albeit deferred compensation benefit. I am persuaded, given this agreement, and absent any clear prohibition on this application, that the term “regular pay” in Article 45 of the collective agreement is properly interpreted to include the permanent wage enhancement amount, an amount paid on an hourly basis for hours worked. [44] The SRPSA stipulates that this funding is to be used “to enhance the compensation paid to employees”. That purpose is intact. Other than that legislative direction, there was no evidence as to how the permanent wage enhancement program was being applied in terms of the reimbursement for incremental costs as referred to in section 4.1 of the MCCSS Guidelines, whether for statutory entitlements or discretionary benefits. Collective agreement benefits (including holiday, vacation, and sick pay, as well as severance pay) are often greater than the statutory entitlement. It would seem to run counter to its purpose to structure a compensation enhancement program that had the effect of imposing compensation costs on an employer which are not then able to be reimbursed under that program. However the MCCSS Guidelines do not provide relevant details, nor do they have any force of law as they are not prescribed by regulation. It is a policy document at best. Absent clearer legislative direction or limitation with respect to the use of the wage enhancement funds, they represent another source of government funding (for purposes of compensation) to this Employer, which in turn, is obliged to apply the terms of its collective agreement. [45] Having regard to all of the above, I find that “regular pay” in Article 45 of the collective agreement is properly interpreted to include any permanent wage enhancement amount paid to an eligible employee and that severance pay is to be calculated accordingly. I will remain seized with respect to any issue arising from the implementation of this award. [46] This grievance is allowed. Dated at Toronto, Ontario this 21st day of October, 2024. “Marilyn A. Nairn” __________________________________________