TEAM MEMO
To: TEAM-IFPTE Local 161 Members
From: TEAM Office
Date: March 8, 2019
Re: New and Noteworthy
- Negotiations: We are pleased to inform members that negotiations with the Company will recommence on April 10th, with a second meeting scheduled for April 16th. Future dates will be set as needed.
Several instances of senior level staff (who are not in TEAM’s bargaining unit) commenting on TEAM’s negotiating position and/or Bell’s view of unionized management, have been relayed to the TEAM office. The Canada Labour Code strictly prohibits Bell, including its Directors, from interfering with TEAM’s representation of its members, and by making comments on the quality of TEAM's representation, the nature of the negotiations etc., they may be committing an Unfair Labour Practice.
Should a Company representative initiate a conversation with you about TEAM and/or the negotiations, you have the right to remind them that they are probably in breach of the Canada Labour Code and should stop. You may also wish to question their motives.
- Pre-Retirement Planning Seminars: The best time to start planning for retirement, or working towards financial independence, is decades before your desired target date. The next best time to start is today. Regardless of where you are today with your planning, we would like to gauge the level of membership interest in attending TEAM sponsored pre-retirement planning seminars, where you can learn more about your DB or DC pension plan, CPP, OAS, RRSPs, RIFFs etc. The sessions would be approximately three hours in duration, outside working hours, and perhaps on a weekend for those where that works best.
If these seminars are of interest to you, please click here and provide a brief summary of the topics that you think would benefit you most, and if you have a spouse or partner, if you would like them to also attend.
- Variable Pay / Achievement Incentive Plan (AIP): If your AIP payout was reduced due to your individual performance rating, and you feel that the assessment was unreasonable, or, if your personal rating warranted a higher payout than you received, we would like to hear from you. Please click here or call the TEAM office: 204-984-9470.
- Manulife Reimbursement Limits: Several members have reported not being fully reimbursed to the level they expected for claims under the Manulife medical plan. The problem they have run into is, that despite an expected level of coverage e.g. 80% for a massage therapist session, Manulife has set limits for maximum individual claims. In the section ‘Plan Maximums’ of the Omniflex Health Care Plans information document, is the statement: “Specific limits apply to certain prescription drugs, professional services and medical supplies and services”. When logged into the Manulife website, you can check if, and to what amount a specific drug is covered, click on the link ‘My drug plan’. However, at this time, to find out what the “reasonable and customary rate in Manitoba” is for a required service, you need to call and ask Manulife (1-800-268-6195). Incidentally, when we checked what the “reasonable and customary rate in Manitoba” was for the Massage Therapist, we were told it is $80, but that could change, so please check with Manulife first.
- IFPTE Dominick D. Critelli, Jr. Annual Scholarships: This is a reminder that applications must be postmarked on or before March 15, 2019. The scholarships are $2,500 USD each to children or grandchildren of IFPTE members who wish to continue their education beyond high school. Details of the scholarships, eligibility criteria and application form can be found here.
TEAM-IFPTE Local 161
204-984-9470 or 1-877-984-9470
[email protected]
www.teamunion.mb.ca
twitter.com/teamunion161
facebook.com/teamunion161