The Committee is pleased to announce that the representatives of the McMaster University Faculty Association (MUFA) and the Administration have agreed to a remuneration settlement for the one-year period from June 16, 2005 to June 15, 2006, subject to ratification by MUFA Librarians and the Board of Governors.

The agreement is based on the Librarian Policy on Salary and Benefits Negotiations approved by the Board of Governors on October 25, 2001. In particular, the merit pool provisions of that agreement remain in place.
 

1. Effective June 16, 2005 there will be an Across-the-Board (ATB) increase of 3.0 per cent of the June 15, 2005 base salary.  All the librarian salary floors and ceilings will also increase by 3.0 per cent.

 
2. A Merit Pool of 2.33% (calculated in accordance with the Librarian Policy on Salary and Benefits Negotiations) of Librarians’ base salaries, to be paid on June 16, 2005, to be distributed based on an assessment of the performance of position responsibilities and engagement in professional activities.

 
3. Effective June 16, 2005, the Major Medical Plan coverage will be increased as follows:

 
 Vision Care
 $250 maximum per person, including dependents, per rolling 24 months

 Paramedicals
 $20 per visit to a maximum of $300 per practitioner per person per benefit year

4. Effective June 16, 2005, the Dental Plan coverage will be increased as follows:

 
 Major Dental Procedures
 70% of eligible expenses to a maximum of $2,500 per person

Orthodontic Procedures
 50% of eligible expenses to a maximum of $2,500 per person per lifetime per benefit year
 

5. Effective June 16, 2005, the Librarian Professional Development Allowance will increase by $100 to $1100 per year.

 
6. Appendix A contains an agreement on CLA appointments for librarians.

 
7. Appendix B contains a new Research Leave Policy for Librarians.

 
8. Appendix C shows the Librarian Salary Ranges for 2005/06

 
9. Membership in MUFA will be automatically extended to individuals appointed as professional librarians in the University Library system on or after May 1, 2005, with the exception of persons appointed as an Associate University Librarian, who may voluntarily choose to become, or remain members of MUFA, or to resign their membership.  The University Librarian and the Director of the Health Sciences Library will not be eligible for membership.  Librarians who are actively employed on April 30, 2005, who are not members of MUFA, will not be affected by this extension, and will not be required to become members.

 

for the McMaster Faculty Association	for the McMaster Administration
Nora Gaskin	Graham Hill
Barbara McDonald	Melanie Richber
Mike Veall	Peter Sutherland

May 4, 2005

 

 
 

Appendix A
Principles Governing Contractually Limited Appointments (CLAs) for Librarians at McMaster University

1. The decision to make a Librarian Contractually Limited Appointment (CLA) shall be made by the University Librarian or the Director of Health Sciences Library, as appropriate.

 
2. Librarians appointed to a CLA will be administered as Roll 1, and will be entitled to the appropriate University Benefits and salary increases.

 
3. Contractually limited appointments will normally be made for a period of at least four months and any renewal or extension of an initial contract shall normally be for a minimum of two months.

 
4. The total consecutive period a member may serve on contractually limited appointments shall not normally exceed thirty months.

 
5. Procedures outlined in the Librarian Appointment policy will apply when a new or vacant CLA becomes available. The Levels and Promotions Committee will assign a final salary level to the position, taking into account the position description and the Librarian’s record of professional accomplishment.

 
6. The letters of appointment for all contractually limited appointments shall include an indication of the basis upon which merit shall be awarded beyond the first year of the contract (position responsibilities and professional activities). This applies even to contracts of a year or less duration as they may be renewed or continued in the future.

 
7. CLAs shall be subject to the normal review process for Librarians.

 
8. Merit shall be awarded following cumulative service beyond twelve months for all CLA contracts.

 
9. Decisions regarding renewal or extension of CLAs shall be made by the University Librarian or the Director of Health Sciences Library (as appropriate) as early as possible.

 
10. MUFA will be informed annually in October of all contractually limited appointments  of librarians (since the last report) of less than four months and the reasons for the appointments.

Appendix B
Research Leave Policy for Librarians

1.  SCOPE AND PURPOSE

 a. The purpose of the Research Leave Policy for librarians is to support and encourage a librarian’s continuing development as a member of the academic community. This actively contributes to the achievement of the mission and objectives of the University.

 b. It is the intention of the University to support the Research Leave Policy , and subject to the operational feasibility of granting leaves, no application for a research leave will be unreasonably denied, once the specified eligibility requirements have been met.

 c. To encourage the engagement of librarians in research activities at all stages of their careers, research leave for librarians will consist of three categories: “Short-Term Leave”, “Regular Leave”, and “Special Leave”.
 
 

2.  AVAILABILITY AND DURATION OF LEAVE

 a. All categories will be funded from the appropriate operating budget of the University Library System. A combined total of 60 weeks of leave time will be available annually.

 b. Eligible librarians may request a leave up to a maximum of four weeks under the “Short-Term Leave” category, and up to a maximum of 52 weeks under the “Regular Leave” category.

 c “Special Leave” may be granted under the terms outlined in §7, below.
 
 

3.  ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES

Research leave is intended for the pursuit of research and other scholarly activities. This may include the conduct of research, scholarship, critical, professional or development work resulting in the possible publication, demonstration or presentation of the results. A course of study or instruction may be a minor component of the project or investigation if the applicant can demonstrate its necessary relationship to the proposed research. A “Short-Term Leave” may also be used by a librarian at an early stage in her or his research career to develop a proposal for a “Regular Leave”, or by any librarian to complete research that is underway when he or she joins McMaster.
 
 

4.  ELIGIBILITY, SALARY AND BENEFITS

 a. Prospective applicants for research leave must hold a continuing or contractually limited appointment as a professional librarian in the McMaster University Library System, and must have completed their probationary period.

 b. All research leaves will be granted at 100% of current salary.

 c. For the purposes of pension contributions, insurance and medical disability benefits, a librarian on research leave will be regarded as being on regular salary. The University and the librarian will continue to contribute their normal shares of the costs involved.

 d. If a librarian holds an appointment that is less than full-time, research leave would be granted only during the working period.
 
 

5.  SHORT-TERM LEAVE

 a. This category of leave is intended to encourage the engagement of librarians at an early stage in their career in research activities, to provide research opportunities to librarians while they accumulate service within McMaster, or to provide a research opportunity to librarians who have never taken a research leave.

 b. Librarians who meet the eligibility requirements in §4(a) who have less than five years of service with McMaster University as a professional librarian, are eligible to apply for a Short-Term Leave of up to four weeks duration. Subject to discussion and agreement between the librarian and the manager of their department, the leave may be taken in increments of not less than 5 consecutive working days. An individual librarian may be granted not more than two such leaves prior to their fifth anniversary date of service. These leaves cannot normally be combined.

 c. In addition, librarians who meet the eligibility requirements in §4(a) who have five or more years of service with McMaster University as a professional librarian, and have never taken a research leave, are eligible to apply for one Short-Term Leave of up to four weeks duration. Subject to discussion and agreement between the librarian and the manager of their department, the leave may be taken in increments of not less than 5 consecutive working days.
 
 

6.  REGULAR LEAVE

After their fifth anniversary date of service, librarians who meet the eligibility requirements in §4(a) are eligible for a maximum of 52 weeks’ leave.

Eligibility for subsequent leaves will be calculated as follows:

 • a further 3 years of continuous service following the completion of the most recent research leave are required before eligibility for a subsequent leave of less than 13 weeks is established

 • a further 4 years of continuous service following the completion of the most recent research leave are required before eligibility for a subsequent leave of 13 to 26 weeks is established

 • a further 5 years of continuous service following the completion of the most recent research leave are required before eligibility for a subsequent leave of more than 26 weeks is established

Subject to agreement between the librarian and the manager of their department, if a leave of between 26 and 52 weeks is proposed, the applicant may propose that the leave be taken in not more than two parts.
 
 

7.  SPECIAL LEAVE

In exceptional cases, when a librarian may have served less than the required number of years of service, Special Leave may be approved in this category on the same financial conditions described in §4. Such a leave may be granted by the Research Leave Committee in consultation with the Manager of the appropriate department. It is understood that only one such leave will normally be approved in any one year. This leave, if granted, will be considered a research leave and will count towards the number of weeks available under the Research Leave Policy and for the purpose of determining the time of eligibility of the librarian for her or his next research leave.
 
 

8.  APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND REVIEW MECHANISM

 a. Application for a research leave will be made in writing.

 b. The application shall include:

  i. the starting and ending date of the proposed leave, and the phasing, if proposed;
  ii. an outline of the research or other scholarly activity proposed;
  iii. a statement of how the proposed activity will benefit the librarian, the profession, the Library and/or the University;
  iv. a current curriculum vitae;
  v. disclosure of any external funding received or applied for in support of the activity;
  vi. any other information the applicant wishes to be considered.

 c. A librarian must submit a research leave application to the Research Leave Committee and his or her supervisor on or before December 31st  for a leave to be taken in the following fiscal year (May 1st  to April 30th).

 d. Applications will be considered by the Research Leave Committee consisting of the University Librarian and either the Director of the Health Sciences Library or an Associate University Librarian, and the current Librarian Representative on the MUFA Executive. The Library Human Resources Consultant will be an ex officio, non-voting member of the Committee.

 e. The Research Leave Committee will consider each application against the following criteria:

  i. the value of the project to the librarian, Library, the University, and the broader library and research community;
  ii. the merit of the project, and the likelihood of its successful completion;
  iii. balance and fairness in the context of the total time available for the category of research leave under which application
      is made.

9.  REPORT ON THE RESEARCH LEAVE

A written report on the project or investigation undertaken will be submitted to the Research Leave Committee within two months of the end of the leave. On completion of the leave period, the librarian will return to his or her original position. The report allows for proper evaluation of the librarian’s accomplishments while on leave, and becomes part of the material considered in the Annual Performance Review the following year. The librarian may be asked to present her or his project and its results to colleagues and staff.

Memorandum of Understanding for 2005/06

Due to the timing of negotiations this year, it is unlikely that the Board of Governors will consider this revised policy for several weeks. Efforts will be made to bring the matter to the next meeting of the Board on June 16, 2005. If and when approved, the Library will use best efforts to make three Short-Term Leaves, each of up to four weeks, available in FY 2005/06, with an application deadline date of June 16, 2005.
 

Appendix C
Librarian Salary Ranges 2004/05 to 2005/06
 
 

June 16, 2004 to June 15, 2005 (current)

Level	Floor	Ceiling
1	$39,610	$63,375
2	$42,777	$68,443
3	$47,483	$75,972
4	$54,154	$86,645
5	$63,359	$101,373

June 16, 2005 to June 15, 2006 (3% added to previous year)

Level	Floor	Ceiling
1	$40,798	$65,276
2	$44,060	$70,496
3	$48,907	$78,251
4	$55,779	$89,244
5	$65,260	$104,414