What is a back-to-work protocol and what does it cover?
A back-to-work protocol is negotiated between the union and the Employer, and sets out the terms on which employees will return to work after a strike has ended. Back-to-work protocols often cover issues like how we will be paid for work that must be made up in any remediation period, or the reorganization of deadlines for various processes that may have halted during a strike. The leverage that a union has in negotiating a good back-to-work protocol rests in the members’ unwillingness to return to work unless these key issues are dealt with.
Unions at York University have always sought remediation pay for completing work missed or delayed owing to the strike.