Pay Increments, what we need to know?

Back to Bargaining Questions and Answers

In 2003, UTE published a Bulletin on “Incremental Pay Rates – Friend or Foe”? Where we explained the following: 

"The Incremental Pay System at the CRA is a pay system that requires an individual to start at a minimum pay level and, as they accumulate service and perform at a satisfactory level, move to the next pay level, eventually reaching the maximum or top level." (Increment)
[…]
"So what is the intent of an Incremental Pay System? The intent is to pay an employee on an ascending pay scale over a period of time as they learn all the duties of a position. Example, someone who just starts at a position cannot perform all the duties of a position the day they start work, but as they learn the job and receive some training, they become fully capable of performing all of the duties satisfactorily."

In general, "it only takes a year or two to be at a “satisfactory” performance level in all of the duties."  As a result, the Union believes that by using several increments, the employer is able to delay paying our members' wages based on the value of their work.

(Excerpt from Bulletin 21/03)

For clarity, here are two (2) pay scale examples.  The first scale taken from the collective agreement between the Canada Revenue Agency and the Public Service Alliance of Canada, expiring on October 31, 2010, has four (4) increments.  The second scale, which is hypothetical, has six (6) increments.

Example 1: SP 03 rate of pay effective November 1, 2008

Example 2 – hypothetical: SP 03 effective November 1, 2008 – fictitious amounts.

In comparing the two examples, we can conclude that in Example 2, the six (6) incremental steps are not advantageous, as it is economically preferable to achieve the maximum pay as early as possible.

The union is not ruling out the possibility, during bargaining, of considering proposals on amending the increments that would be advantageous for our members.  The fact remains that pay increments are one of the components of our collective agreement and are negotiable.