Associated Ambulance & Services (Whitecourt) Ltd., Collective Agreement 2020-2025

LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING #8

BETWEEN

ASSOCIATED AMBULANCE & SERVICES (WHITECOURT), LTD., ATHABASCA, BARRHEAD, BOYLE, COLD LAKE, EDSON, EVANSBURG, HINTON, JASPER, NORDEGG, RIMBEY, ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE AND WHITECOURT STATIONS 
(hereinafter called the “Employer”)

AND

HEALTH SCIENCES ASSOCIATION OF ALBERTA
(hereinafter called the “Union”)

RE: COLD LAKE AMBULANCE SERVICE (CLAS) FORMER EMPLOYEES
 

The red-circled provisions for Cold Lake Ambulance Service (CLAS) former employees specified in this Letter of Understanding are effective September 1st, 2022 for all existing permanent full-time employees that transferred from CLAS to Associated Ambulance and will supersede related Articles, or portions thereof, in the Associated Ambulance Main Agreement. This does not include any employees that transitioned to Permanent or Temporary Full-Time positions in Cold Lake on or after September 1, 2022.

VACATION WITH PAY 

Article 15.01 - Vacation Entitlement

Existing Employees vacation entitlement shall be red circled as of September 1st, 2022 until such time they have met the next threshold in Article 15.01 in the Main Agreement based upon their Full-Time start date with CLAS.

(a) Twelve (12) hours per month during the first three (3) years of service;

(b) Sixteen (16) hours per month after three (3) years of service;

(c) Twenty (20) hours per month after ten (10) years of service;

(d) Twenty-four (24) hours per month after nineteen (19) years of service;

(e) Twenty-eight (28) hours per month after twenty-nine (29) years of service;

Article 15.02 

Employees shall receive their vacation entitlement April 1st every year and such entitlement shall be based upon the length of service on the preceding year. CLAS Employees who transferred over an existing vacation bank can choose to use the time immediately by following the vacation booking process outlined in Article 15 of the main agreement or keep the time in the bank and use it for the period April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 which will ensure that they potentially have a full vacation bank for use during that time.  If the length of service is less than 1 (one) full calendar year such entitlement shall be prorated. 

Example:  Former CLAS employee has 140 hours from time worked with CLAS which is transferred over to Associated Ambulance as of September 1, 2022.  Employee continues to accrue vacation at 20 hours per month and works from September 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023.  Associated Ambulance Collective Agreement allows for the carryover of one full tour if the Employee did not use all their vacation allotment.  The Employee would have accrued an additional 140 hours of vacation time for those 7 months, which would result in the employee having 240 hours + 40 hours carryover available to use effective April 1, 2023.    

SICK LEAVE

Employees who had accrued sick leave that is more than the maximum outlined in Article 17.02, as of September 1st, 2022, shall:

(a) be able to use that entitlement 
(b) not be able to accrue sick leave at the rate of one (1) day for each full month of employment until such time as the employee uses sick time and falls below the maximum sick leave entitlement of 14 days. 

LAPP/DEFINED PENSION PLAN

Both Parties agree that the Alberta Labour Relations Board will make the final decision on the future of LAPP or another Defined Pension Plan for members previously employed with CLAS.