Telus Performance Bonus Cut
Hello members,
On January 8th, Telus announced that the median Individual component of the Performance Bonus will now be an 80% score instead of a 100% score. In other words, no matter how well members perform as a whole, on average we will not be meeting target because of how the math is now done.
Frankly, it’s an insult that the Company is responding to its own self-created financial pressures by arbitrarily reducing everyone’s performance score, as if we have individually under-performed. We are reviewing this change with legal counsel to determine whether it constitutes a violation of the Collective Agreement.
As you’ve likely noticed, in recent years the Company has increasingly exercised what it views as discretion to reduce pay and benefits that are not explicitly guaranteed under the Collective Agreement. Examples now include:
Reductions to share purchase program matching
Reductions to employee discounts
Decreasing benefit entitlements while increasing premiums
Making it harder to qualify for the WorkStyles top-up
Reducing the individual scoring median on the performance bonus
Changing the weighting of the performance bonus to decrease payouts (2027)
The conclusion to be drawn from this is that we need more of our pay and benefits codified into the Collective Agreement, with strong language that clearly does not allow Company rollbacks.
This requires:
A strong Bargaining Committee
Strong membership engagement in bargaining-related actions starting now until an Agreement is concluded
A willingness from all of us to fight for fairness in how we’re treated by Telus
Earlier today a bulletin went out announcing that nominations to the Bargaining Committee will begin on Monday, January 12th, with the election occurring in February.
Please consider running if you think you have what it takes to fight for our rights effectively at the table.
Pay attention to the Bargaining Committee election and make sure you Vote.
Complete the Bargaining survey once it comes out in the Spring, and participate in the many upcoming bargaining activities. This is our path to a better Agreement to stop further rollbacks.
Let’s turn our frustration into action, and our action into a more solid Collective Agreement that respects the work we do.
In Solidarity,
USW Local 1944