Ask TRUFA: Sessional Benefits
TRUFA President’s Report to the Membership – February 2018
February 27, 2018TRUFA President’s Report to the Membership – March 2018
March 25, 2018
Ask TRUFA is a venue for members to ask questions anonymously and receive answers from TRUFA Stewards or Executive. Submit your question at Ask TRUFA.
QUESTION:
I have looked at the TRUFA Contract Faculty Handbook and the Collective Agreement, where it states “13.9 Benefits for Sessional Employees Statutory benefits as applicable.” Does this mean full-time faculty get extended health and dental coverage?
ANSWER:
Dear Concerned Faculty Member,
Sessional faculty members–even those working the equivalent of “full-time”–are not currently covered under Article 13.2: Medical Services Plan and Extended Health Benefits Plan.
However, if Sessional faculty convert to Continuing Sessional status, then all of Article 13.2 applies. Continuing Sessional status is achieved according to the guidelines in Article 5.2.6.2:
“A Faculty Member shall be appointed to a Continuing Sessional position when he/she has completed a sessional workload for three (3) consecutive years at a workload level of 50% or greater of the maxima as defined in Article 10 or when initial Sessional appointment and subsequent Limited Term Contracts combined are the equivalent workload of three (3) consecutive years at a workload level of 50% or greater of the maxima as defined in Article 10.”
Article 13.9 – Benefits for Sessional Employees—states: “Statutory benefits as applicable.” The term “statutory benefits” refers to benefits contained in the BC “Employment Standards Act,” which determines minimum standards for both unionized and non-unionized workplaces. In the absence of specific collective agreement language in a unionized workplace, the ESA benefit provisions apply. None of the ESA provisions apply to TRU Sessional faculty. While the ESA requires that “an employer must pay an employee the following amount of vacation pay: (a) after 5 calendar days of employment, at least 4% of the employee’s total wages during the year of employment entitling the employee to the vacation pay,” the TRU/TRUFA Collective Agreement contains the following provision:
11.5.10.4 Sessional and Continuing Sessional employees will receive 4.5% of salary in lieu of vacation, to be paid on termination of contract.
For your information, one other benefit enjoyed by all Sessional faculty is Article 16.5 Waiver of Course Registration Fees for TRU Courses.
To view the TRUFA Collective Agreement please go to:
http://trufa.ca/publications and click on “Collective Agreement.”
Thanks for asking TRUFA.
