What are average regular monthly wages?

For locals: Article 14.1(d) of the CUPE Constitution requires per capita to be paid on “average regular monthly wages”.

For employers: Union dues should be deducted based on the local’s bylaws (which could be either on gross or regular wages); however, for reporting “regular wages” to CUPE National please refer to the information below.

Regular wages are all earnings of a regular nature for time worked, including:

• Statutory holiday pay
• Vacation pay
• Sick leave pay
• Sick days paid by the employer, but not those paid by insurance that kicks in after an employee is off sick for more than 5 days
• Training pay
• Union leaves with pay (even if the local union reimburses the employer)
• Maternity/paternity/adoption leaves with pay (in cases where the employer pays only a portion of the salary to supplement maternity/paternity/adoption leaves, the top up salary is considered regular wages)
• Employment Insurance: in cases where the employer pays only a portion of the salary to supplement E.I.; the employer paid portion, or the “top up”, is considered regular wages
• Workers’ compensation benefits (if an employee maintained full salary from the employer, and the WCB payments went to the employer, the full salary is to be included in regular wages; if the employer pays an employee the difference between monies received from Workers’ Compensation and that employee’s regular salary, the difference is to be included in the total regular wages)
• Retro pay or Pay Equity – information is required for the period in which the retro or pay equity covers and the wage amount that it represents
• Replacement or acting pay
• Secondment or equalization pay
• Jury duty pay
• Bereavement pay
• Government enhancement pay

Regular wages do not include the following, and as such no per capita should be paid for these types of earnings:

• Overtime pay
• Statutory holiday worked and paid at a premium
• Shift premiums or weekend premiums
• On-call premiums
• Allowances for vehicle use, kilometres driven, tools, clothing, meals, etc.
• Monies received in lieu of benefits
• Severance pay
• Vacation and signing bonus
• Other types of extra pay, allowances or bonuses