January 2016 Update New Unit 1 Health Benefits & Financial Assistance Funds
CUPE
3902
January 2016 Update New Unit 1 Health Benefits & Financial Assistance Funds
( 1) The Unit 1 Health Benefits have changed under the NEW Collective Agreement. For more details about the new health plan and how to make claims, please visit: http:// www. hrandequity. utoronto. ca / currentstaff / unionized / cupe-local-3902-unit-1. htm
Also, please see the CUPE website for more details about health benefits:: http:// cupe3902. org / unit-1 / unit-1-benefits /
( 2) Two new financial assistance funds were bargained for; the Tuition Assistance Fund( TAF) and the Graduate Student Bursary Fund( GSBF).
The TAF is a fund that should provide all eligible members a tuition grant equal to the difference between their tuition fees( less other grants such as DCAs, OGS, etc) and 50 per cent domestic tuition. In order to be eligible for this fund you must be beyond the“ funded cohort” and paying tuition in the 5th or 6th year of your PhD( research stream) or 2nd year of your Masters( research stream). If you have not been contacted about this fund and you believe you are eligible, please contact Hana Saleem in LabourRelations( hana. saleem @ utoronto. ca) or Rebecca, our staff representative( sr @ cupe3902. org) to resolve this issue.
The GSBF is a fund for Unit 1 members whose annual funding is below $ 17,500 / year. It should be sufficient to provide all bargaining unit members in the funded cohort with a top-up equal to the difference between their funding and $ 17,500 / year. Currently, the GSBF is not being distributed because the Union is filing a complaint with the Ontario Labour Board against the University of Toronto Administration. The complaint is being filed because the Union contends it was not given enough funds to distribute the GSBF to all students who need it. Additionally, the Union reports that it was not given sufficient funding information that was promised in bargaining, which is needed in order to distribute the funds. If you wish to read the particulars of our complaint at the Board it can be found on the homepage of ourwebsite: http:// cupe3902. org.
Finally, please see this pamphlet( http:// cupe3902. ord / wpcontent / uploads / 2015 / 08 / CUPE-3902-Unit-- Benefits-Funds-2015. pdf) regarding financial assistance funds that will be available in the spring of 2016, which you may be eligible to apply for.
By: Catherine Braunstein CUPE REPRESENTATIVE‘ 16
Photo by: Ed Gregory
SPRING 2016 | From Prescription to Nutrition | 2