Human Resources Manual - 306 - Exclusions

1. The Public Service Act excludes certain employees from being members of the Union of Northern Workers (UNW) bargaining unit.  This section outlines the criteria and process to be followed in determining employees to be excluded from the UNW bargaining unit.

2. These guidelines and procedures apply to all employees except teachers and those employed by the NWT Power Corporation.

3. Bargaining Unit means the Union of Northern Workers as the unit of employees established by the Public Service Act for the purpose of collective bargaining.
4. Corporate Human Resource Services is the Corporate Human Resource Services Division of the Department of Human Resources.
5. Teacher means a teacher as defined in the Education Act who is an employee and includes teachers of grades kindergarten to 12.

6. The Union of Northern Workers is the bargaining unit for all employees except teachers.  The NWT Teachers' Association is the bargaining agent for teachers.
7. When determining if a position should be excluded from the bargaining unit, it must be determined if carrying out the normal day to day functions of the position would place an employee in a conflict if he/she were included in the bargaining unit.  Having access to confidential information does not justify exclusion from the bargaining unit.
8. An employee is not eligible for membership in the UNW bargaining unit if they are:
   1. employed in a position referred to in 49.1(2) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act; this includes all employees of the Legislative Assembly;
   2. employed as a superintendent of schools, an assistant superintendent of schools or a supervisor of schools within the meaning of the Education Act;
   3. employed as a Deputy Head, an assistant deputy minister, a director, a regional director, an assistant director, an area director, a regional superintendent or an auditor;
      
      This criteria includes all Deputy Heads and addresses positions that direct a departmental work unit and would normally be the first or second level response in the grievance process.
   4. employed in a position in a division or section of the Department of Human Resources or Financial Management Board Secretariat (FMBS) with duties and responsibilities that include developing and administering policies, procedures and guidelines respecting human resource management, program evaluation, financial planning and resource allocation;
      
      This criteria addresses positions in Human Resources (i.e., investigator or policy officer) and FMBS (i.e., FMB analyst or program advisor) that develop and administer policies that would result in a conflict if the employee were to be a member of the bargaining unit.
   5. employed in a position that provides support or advice directly to the Executive Council, a committee of the Executive Council or a member of the Executive Council;
      
      This criteria addresses positions (i.e., executive assistants or support staff) that report or provide advice directly to the Executive Council (Cabinet), a member or a committee of the Council (Ministers) as a major part of the duties and responsibilities.
   6. employed as a legal officer or in a position that provides translation services to a legal officer on a regular basis;
      
      This criteria addresses positions that represent or advise the GNWT on legal matters, including court, arbitration and tribunals.  It also includes those positions that provide translation services for the legal division.  Such positions would include lawyers who litigate on behalf of the GNWT and their legal translators.  This does not include employees who are lawyers who do not litigate, or interpreters or translators who do not interpret legislation or legal instructions.
   7. employed in a position with duties and responsibilities that include providing advice and assistance on a regular basis respecting the terms and conditions of employment, including collective bargaining;
      
      This criteria addresses positions (i.e., labour relations advisors, client service managers or human resources officers) that provide employment and collective agreement advice and assistance.
   8. Employed in a position with duties and responsibilities that include carrying out the following on a regular basis:
      
      1. staffing;
      2. interpreting employment contracts;
      3. resolving workplace disputes;
      4. responding to grievances; or
      5. providing advice in respect of the matters referred to in subparagraphs i. to iv.;
      This criteria addresses human resources positions (i.e., human resource officers or positions that provide support or back-up) where the duties in subparagraphs (i) to (iv) comprise a high percentage of the position;
   9. employed in a position with management responsibility that includes directly assigning work to, assessing the performance of, and imposing discipline on other employees;
      
      This criteria addresses positions that have substantial supervisory responsibilities (usually over 15 direct reporting employees) within a large division or regional office or positions with supervisory responsibilities where there are other compelling reasons for exclusion such as geographical remoteness from the supervisor;
   10. employed as a dentist or a medical practitioner;
       
       This criteria addresses positions that are dentists or medical practitioners, and it does not include positions, which report to the dentist or medical practitioner.  A medical practitioner is an individual licensed to practice medicine in the Northwest Territories, generally a physician.
   11. employed in a position that provides administrative or secretarial support directly to:
       1. a person referred to in paragraphs (a), (c) or (d); or
       2. a person referred to in paragraphs (b), (e), (f) or (g) in respect of the duties and responsibilities referred to in those paragraphs.
       This criteria addresses positions that provide administrative and secretarial support directly to any position that is excluded (with the exception of dentists and physicians) as per the preceding criteria.  When determining if a position should be excluded under this clause, one of the considerations is the number of individuals that could reasonably be excluded under these criteria in one work unit and it was determined that one person per division would be sufficient.

9. When a position is created or the duties of a position change and a new job description is written or revised, the Deputy Head of the Department, Board or Agency requesting the exclusion forwards a copy of the job description and organizational chart along with the rationale for the exclusion request to the Director of Corporate Human Resource Services.  The letter should include a reference to the appropriate section of the Public Service Act to which the exclusion applies (see Section 900 for more information on the preparation of these documents).
10. The duties of the position are reviewed against the criteria in the Public Service Act and against similar positions.
11. The Director of Corporate Human Resource Services advises the Deputy Head in writing of the results of the analysis.
12. If necessary, the supervisor notifies the employee of his/her change in status and the corresponding changes to his/her terms and conditions of employment.
13. The Department of Human Resources ensures the employee information in the Human Resource Information System (PeopleSoft) correctly reflects the exclusion.
14. If, as a result of the review, similar positions are also identified for exclusion from the bargaining unit, the Department, Board or Agency is provided an opportunity to provide updated job information to assess whether exclusion is required.
15. The Director of Corporate Human Resource Services provides the Union and the Deputy Minister of the Department of Human Resources with a monthly list of excluded positions.  The Union is also provided relevant information in accordance with the collective agreement, including employee name, position number, position title, settlement code, job description and applicable exclusion criteria.

Public Service Act

Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act

Main Collective Agreement with the UNW
Article 14, Information

Human Resource Manual
Section 902, Evaluating a Position