Benefit Premiums and AUFA Executive Updates
The blog post provides updates on expected changes to AUFA Benefit Premiums and well as membership on the AUFA executive and committees and the upcoming Spring Election.
Benefit Premiums
AUFA’s collective agreement requires AU to provide AUFA members with certain health-care benefits. To fund these benefits, AU pays a fixed amount of money per AUFA member. If the cost of AUFA benefits exceeds this set amount, the additional costs are deducted from our paycheques.
AU is presently negotiating the renewal with our benefit supplier (Alberta Blue Cross). It is expected that the cost of benefits will go up when the renewal contract is signed in August 2024. At this point, the amount of the increase is unknown.
The University’s Joint Benefits Committee (comprising representatives of the employer and the unions) will be discussing how to address any increases in its April meeting.
Any increase in costs could be passed on to AUFA members in the form of an increase in monthly benefit costs. One option is to expend the $125,000 surplus in the plan to reduce the amount of any increase this year.
AUFA’s Social and Well-Being Committee met this week to discuss this matter and agreed to support spending the surplus to reduce cost increases. This is consistent with a March 2023 vote by the members to expend the surplus to reduce benefits costs.
The Social and Well-Being Committee has also asked the Bargaining Committee to consider negotiating an increase in AU’s contribution to benefits (in order to lower the amount paid by AUFA members).
Houda Trabelsi
Wellness Elected Lead
AUFA Executive, Committees, and Elections
Information about who is on the AUFA Executive and its committees can be found on the AUFA website.
There have been several changes to AUFA Executive and its committees in recent months. These changes include:
Eloy Rivas-Sanchez being appointed Bargaining Lead.
Eloy Rivas-Sanchez resigning as Communications Lead. The Communications Lead position will remain vacant until the Spring elections.
Pamela Holway resigning as Advocacy Lead. The Advocacy Lead position will remain vacant until the Spring elections.
Doug Neuman, Miran Nevesinjac, and Susan Cake being appointed to the Grievance committee.
As per the Bylaws, AUFA will hold elections in May in conjunction with the Spring General Meeting (Wednesday, May 22, 2-4 pm). The Nominations committee will be sending out a call for nominations in April.
Corina Dransutavicius
Governance Elected Lead