This committee is chaired by the Vice-President, Salary, Benefits, Pensions and Workload and advises Council and the Executive on matters related to bargaining. The Vice-President, SBPW is responsible for identifying and negotiating improvements (under Article 6 of the Memorandum of Agreement) in salary, benefits, pensions and workload for members of the Association. The Committee oversees past and present salary, benefits and pension agreements at the University and monitors such agreements at other universities. Upon consultation with the Committee, the Vice-President compiles a bargaining platform for salary, benefits, pension and workload improvements for members of the Association, communicates this information to the Executive Committee, and presents it to Council for confirmation. The Vice-President SBPW recommends the composition of the negotiating team to Council and normally serves as Chief Negotiator. The Vice-President is also responsible for presenting an accounting of the success of current negotiations to the Executive Committee and Council and, where appropriate, calling for confirmation of settlement terms by Council.
Chair: Ariel Katz, katz@utfa.org
| Committee Members | Constituency |
|---|---|
| Mary Alice Guttman | Retired Member |
| Sherri Helwig | UTSC - Arts, Culture & Media |
| Raymond Kwong | Retired Member |
| Renan Levine | UTSC - Political Science |
| Jody Macdonald | Retired Member |
| Arjumand Siddiqi | Dalla Lana School of Public Health |
| Harriet Sonne de Torrens | UTM - Library |
| Azita Taleghani | Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations |
| Anton Zilman | Department of Physics |
Joint Benefit Committee
The 2010 arbitration award created a Joint Benefit Committee with representatives from the University administration and three from UTFA.
The Committee’s terms of reference are to review all claims experience that may affect benefit plan provisions and claims patterns. ‘Experience’ here refers to internal matters, such as the impact of plan changes negotiated by the parties, and external factors such as legislative changes to OHIP, the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan, or any other factor that could have an effect on the U of T plan’s provision of benefits.
The Committee is also mandated to review annual plan financial statements and renewal/premium recommendations; to advise in the selection of plan administrators; to review claims rejection or denial reports to identify trends or patterns; and to review and advise on communications.
A member may bring forward to UTFA a denied claim that has been unsuccessfully appealed to the Plan Administrator, and UTFA can in turn forward the claim, with appropriate relevant documents, to the Joint Benefit Committee for review. If the Committee cannot resolve the issue, UTFA may forward the claim, on behalf of the member, to the Chair of the GRP for adjudication – such adjudication to be in accordance with the current plan provisions.