Section 1: Recognized Days
The following shall be the recognized holidays:
New Year’s Day – 40 hrs. commencing at 4:00 p.m. December 31st.
Easter Monday – 24 hrs. commencing at 8:00 a.m. Monday
Canada Day – 24 hrs. commencing at 8:00 a.m. July 1st.
Labour Day – 24 hrs. commencing at 8:00 a.m. Monday
National Day for Truth & Reconciliation
– 24hrs. commencing at 8:00 a.m. September 30th
Christmas Eve – 24 hrs. commencing at 8:00 a.m. December 24th.
Christmas Day – 24 hrs. commencing at 8:00 a.m. December 25th.
Boxing Day – 24 hrs. commencing at 8:00 a.m. December 26th.
Section 2: Adjustment in Hours
The hours of commencing and ending, specified above, may be varied by mutual agreement of the Management and Union Standing Committee, and the specified hour of commencing or ending will be adjusted to coincide with the regular hours for changing shifts.
In the event that Canada Day falls on Sunday, the following Monday will be observed and the specified hours correspondingly changed.
Section 3: Holiday Work
(a) The Company will provide the Union with not less than 30 days notice of the general scope of operating and/or maintenance plans on statutory holidays. Unanticipated weather conditions or maintenance requirements may alter those plans.
(b) On Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, operational and maintenance employees required will be identified on a scheduled crew basis. Any employee who wishes to be excused from working on a particular statutory holiday will be accommodated provided a request for leave is requested 7 days in advance of the statutory holiday and provided that a trained volunteer can be found to replace them for the shift. If no trained volunteer is found, the employee will be required to work the shift.
(c) Employees who work at Christmas shall be paid double-time for work during that period identified in Paragraph (b).
(d) When notice is not provided to work on a statutory holiday, no work shall be done except as follows:
(i) Any work necessary in the protection of life and property.
(ii) Any major maintenance or repair work, not including machine clothing and wires, which is necessary in order to prevent material subsequent curtailment of employment of a substantial number of employees may be done on holidays, provided that no machine or equipment is involved in production purposes during the holiday shutdown period.
(iii) Any preparatory work which would result in the resumption of production as early as possible following the end of the holiday; it being understood that:
(1) Early start-up will be limited to the holiday, not exceeding twenty (20) hours per contract for all holidays.
(2) Start-up crews will be limited to the minimum number and will be filled on a volunteer basis, or scheduled as necessary.
(3) The four (4) hour limitation does not apply to employees whose regular duties require them to work on recognized holidays.
(4) Emergency unloading of ships except during the 24-hour period commencing 8:00 a.m. Christmas Day and ending 8:00 a.m. Boxing Day.
Section 4: Pay for Holiday Work
(a) Overtime shall be paid for all work performed during holidays at the rates hereinafter specified.
(b) An employee who works on such a holiday shall receive equal time off with pay at their straight time hourly rate. Such time off shall be treated in the same manner as a Special (Personal) Floating Holiday.
Section 5: Qualifying Conditions
In addition to any other compensation earned, any employee who is on the payroll of the Company on any of the foregoing recognized statutory holidays will be granted eight (8) hours pay at the straight time rate of the employee’s regular job, subject to compliance with all of the conditions (a) to (j) set forth below:
(a) The employee must have been on the payroll for not less than the sixty (60) days just preceding the holiday and must have previously qualified for a statutory holiday as provided in (d) below, and
(b) The employee must have worked at least one (1) day during the sixty (60) day qualifying period just preceding the holiday, and
(c) The employee must have worked their scheduled work day before, and their scheduled work day after such holiday, unless failure to work their scheduled work day before or after the holiday was due to any of the following events:
(i) When the employee is on their regular authorized paid vacation;
(ii) When the employee is unable to work by reason of an industrial accident as recognized by WorkSafeBC or non-occupational sickness or injury;
(iii) When the operation in which the employee is engaged is curtailed or discontinued by the decision of the company and which curtailment or discontinuance changes or eliminates the employee’s scheduled work day before, or their scheduled work day after such holiday;
(iv) When a trade in shifts agreed upon between employees and approved in advance by the Company results in a temporary change of the scheduled work day before, or the scheduled work day after the holiday, provided the employee works the shift agreed upon;
(v) When the employee is on leave of absence authorized by the Company.
(d) The employee who has been on the payroll for at least sixty (60) days but who has not previously qualified for a statutory holiday will qualify for the holiday if they have worked a minimum of one hundred and eighty (180) hours during the sixty (60) day qualifying period just preceding the holiday and meets the requirements of (b) and (c) above.
(e) Time lost as the result of an accident as recognized by WorkSafeBC suffered during the course of employment, or time lost as a result of a non-occupational sickness or injury shall be considered as time worked for the purpose of qualifying for a recognized paid holiday, it being understood that the employee will only be entitled to this credit for time while on WorkSafeBC or non-occupational sickness or injury for a period of up to but not exceeding one (1) year from the date of their sickness or injury.
(f) It is understood and agreed, however, that an employee shall not receive the above provided holiday pay if they have agreed to work on such holiday and fails or refuses to work, except in the case where bona fide sickness, or other bona fide reason approved by the Company, prevents their working on such holiday.
(g) An employee required to work on a statutory holiday, in accordance with Article XVII, Section 1 will be granted a day off from their schedule without pay, if they so request. The date of such a day off will be determined by mutual agreement between the employee and their supervisor but must be within ninety (90) days following the holiday.
(h) When a statutory holiday falls on an employee’s regular day off they may elect to defer the statutory holiday pay for a period of one (1) year from the statutory holiday.
The deferred statutory holiday hours and holiday pay may be used in combination with floating holidays, banked time, statutory holidays, and vacation.
The statutory holiday pay will be paid out on a first in, first out basis. If the deferred time off is not taken within a period of one (1) year from when it was earned, the Company shall pay out the deferred statutory holiday pay.
Employees electing to defer their statutory holiday must advise the Human Resources Department seven (7) days prior to the statutory holiday.
(i) In recognition of time off not gained by holiday shutdowns because of work schedule, all employees whose regular work week is Tuesday through Saturday shall be granted, at the employee’s request, two (2) additional holiday days per year. The scheduling of such days to be decided by agreement between the employee and their supervisor.
(j) At the request of the employee, the Company will make every reasonable effort to grant an employee an additional day off if a statutory holiday falls on their regular scheduled day off.