YUFA
Contract
Agreement Reached on Sabbatical Opportunities before Normal Retirement Date
18 Jan 10 - UPDATE: In bullet # 5 of the Memorandum of Settlement accompanying the 2009-2012 Collective Agreement, the parties agreed to extend, for the term of the Agreement, the Letter of Understanding regarding sabbatical credits referred to in Article 14.05 and summarized below.
8 Aug 07 – In the recent round of bargaining, Article 14 – Retirement – was substantially changed in light of the end of mandatory retirement. Article 14.05, which describes opportunities for sabbaticals before normal retirement date, remained the same as in previous agreements. However, after ratification of the 2006-2009 Collective Agreement, YUFA and the Employer disagreed on how this Article would be understood in a post-mandatory retirement environment. The parties have now reached a Letter of Understanding on the implementation of the Article. It is attached here – and what follows will set out highlights of the agreement.
The opportunities described in Article 14.05 can only be taken by members before normal retirement date, that is the 1 July coincident with or next following their 65th birthdates. However, members may take advantage of the provisions and continue working full-time past normal retirement date, if they choose. The Employer’s representatives had argued that retirement at normal retirement date remained mandatory if the opportunities were taken.
Article 14.05 (a) (i) offers members taking their last sabbatical within 5 years of normal retirement date, the opportunity to top-up contributions to the York Pension Plan, based on full academic base salary, rather than actual sabbatical salary, and to receive pension contributions from the Employer based on full academic base salary. Members choosing this Employer top-up pension contribution would have to agree that this was their last sabbatical before retirement and forego all future sabbatical entitlement. Members planning to continue past 65, or unsure of retirement plans, who wish to continue to accrue sabbatical credit may choose to top-up their own and the Employer’s pension contributions under Article 20.18 (a) Sabbatical Leave.
Article 14.05 (a) (iii) offers members who have accumulated 3-5 years of sabbatical credit before normal retirement date, the opportunity to take a six-month sabbatical at 80% salary or one course release at 100% salary, in the year immediately preceding normal retirement date. As well, a member who has accumulated 6 years of sabbatical credit as of normal retirement date may take a one year sabbatical at 80% salary or a six-month sabbatical at 100% in the year immediately preceding normal retirement date. For members electing these options, sabbatical credits would be reduced to 0 as of normal retirement date, but the member could continue full-time after 65 and continue to accrue future sabbatical credits.
Any questions, please contact YUFA at yufa@yorku.ca.