Lowering Student Page Wages

Length: 1100 words: 600-word memo, 500-word analysis

Case

You are an HR practitioner for a public library. The library employees are represented by the Civil Service Union (CSU). There is a collective agreement between the library and CSU that expires one year from now. One of the employee groups in the bargaining unit are student pages. Student pages are high-school students who are under the age of 18. They perform a variety of clerical tasks in libraries on a part-time basis.

The collective agreement between CSU and the Library sets out the terms and conditions of the pages’ employment. The relevant passage reads:

Student Pages

The rates of pay for student pages shall be as follows:

• Step 1: Minimum wage plus 10%
• Step 2: Minimum wage plus 20%
• Step 3: Minimum wage plus 30%

Minimum wage means the minimum wage established from time to time by the provincial government.

Employment as a student page shall terminate on the 18^th birthday of a student page or their graduation from Grade 12, whichever is first.

Job Duties: The main duties and responsibilities of a Student Page are:

• Sort library materials, load materials onto book trucks, and shelve materials.
• Gather unshelved material and re-shelve it.
• Straighten shelves and check to ensure books are correctly shelved.
• Check in returned materials and process holds, although such work shall not constitute more than 50% of their workload.

Pay Administration: Student pages shall serve a six (6) month probationary period. A successful annual performance appraisal shall make a page eligible to move up one step on the pay grid.

Vacation: Student pages are entitled to two (2) weeks of vacation.

Other Leaves and Benefits: Student pages are not eligible for the other leave provisions or the benefits outlined in the collective agreement.

The library employees approximately 100 student pages, with roughly 33 pages aging-out of the program each year.

The newly elected conservative government has introduced legislation that rolls back various labour law entitlements effective next week. One of the changes is the introduction of a new minimum wage for youth under 18 that is $2 per hour lower than the $15 per hour minimum wage for workers aged 18 and over.

Under these changes, the pages’ wages will be reduced. For example, at present, pages on step 1 earn $16.50 per hour ($15 plus 10%). Next week, these pages will earn $14.30 per hour ($13 plus 10%). This is a 13.3% reduction in their hourly pay.

The HR manager, Ashok Kumar, is concerned that lowering the pages’ wages poses organizational risks that he must draw to the attention of the library’s senior executives. The HR Manager directs you to write a memo to him regarding this change. Your memo must:

1.      Summarize the issue.

2.      Identify at least two organizational risks associated with lowering the wages paid to student pages.

3.      Identify at least one option that would allow the library to avoid lowering the wages of student pages and the risk(s) associated with the option(s) you developed.

4.      Recommend a course of action (either lower the minimum wage or adopt an option to avoid lowering the minimum wage) and provide a rationale for your recommendation.

Write a 700-word memo to the HR manager in response to this request by the end of the week. Ensure that you use appropriate course concepts, theories, and terminology in your memo.

Instructions

1.                  This assignment has two components:

a.         a memo of approximately 600 words.

b.         a 500-word reflection and analysis of your memo.

Full sentences and paragraphs are required, although you may use bulleted or numbered lists where they increase clarity.

2.                  Before writing the memo, consult the tipsheet “Writing Memos” at the bottom of the course website. When writing the memo, consider the different options available to the library and the pros and cons of each. Then begin drafting your memo.

3.                  After writing your memo, reflect on and analyze your memo, and address the following questions in about 500 words:

a.         What organizational goal(s) were you trying to achieve in writing this memo?

b.         Why did you make the recommendation that you made? Specifically, what factors did you consider in making your recommendation?

c.         How do you think the union will react if the library decides to lower the wages of student pages?

d.         How do you think student pages will react if the library decides to lower the wages of student pages?