We’ve put together some infographics to help you better understand the payments that will appear on your paystub and student account.
There are pdf versions for Regular Earnings, Vacation Pay, and Grant-in-Aid (GIA), Graduate Financial Assistance (GFA). These include descriptions of post strike retroactive payments and wage increases.
Below are text descriptions for those that prefer:
Regular Earnings
Your paystub contains several sections. In the “Hours and Earnings” section you will find details of what you have been paid both in the current pay period (Current) and in the calendar year (YTD). Each category of pay is given on a separate line.
Members may see two lines referring regular earnings, they are labelled:
- Regular earnings-CUPE 3903-1; and
- Retro-reg earnings CUPE 3903-1.
Regular Earnings-CUPE 3903-1
Usually your regular earnings are equalized over your contract. For instance, if you have a Fall/Winter contract but your Course Director assigns most of your duties in the Fall you’ll still be paid the same amount, every month for September to April.
In the last round of bargaining members received wage gains and all members are encouraged to verify that they are being paid the right amount. Rates of pay will vary depending on the contracts assigned. Basic rates of pay can be found in the collective agreement.
Retro-reg Earnings-CUPE 3903-1
The arbitrator awarded union members a 2.1% increase for the 2017-18 year and a 2.2% wage increase for the 2018-19 year. Members should have seen the retroactive increase, for wages already earned (in 2017-18 and/or since September 2018), in their February or March of 2019 paycheques.
Vacation Pay
Your paystub contains several sections. In the “Hours and Earnings” section you will find details of what you have been paid both in the current pay period (Current) and in the calendar year (YTD). Each category of pay is given on a separate line.
Members may see four lines referring to Vacation Pay, they are labelled:
- Retro Vacation Pay-QUE,
- Retro Vacation CUPE Unit 1,
- Vacation Earnings-CUPE 3903-1,
- Vacation Premium-CUPE 3903-1.
Retro Vacation Pay-QUE & Retro Vacation CUPE Unit 1
Arbitrator Hayes awarded wage increases for each collective agreement year (20172020) in his December 2018 ruling. Prior to January 2019 members were being paid at the 2016-17 rates. After Hayes’s ruling York had to pay members the vacation pay on the difference (increase) between the newly established, and the 2016-17 rates that were originally paid out.
These retroactive vacation pay amounts should have been received by April 2019.
Vacation Earnings-CUPE 3903-1
All members receive 4% Vacation Pay (percentage of salary). Vacation Pay is included in each month’s cheque.
Vacation Premium-CUPE 3903-1
Members with five or more years of cumulative service on or after September 2017 are entitled to an additional 2% Vacation Pay Premium (percentage of salary).
Grant-in-Aid
Your paystub contains several sections. In the “Hours and Earnings” section you will find details of what you have been paid both in the current pay period (Current) and in the calendar year (YTD). Each category of pay is given on a separate line.
Members may see two lines referring to Grant-in-Aid, they are labelled:
- Grant-in-aid CUPE 3903-1; and
- Retro-grant-in-aid CUPE 3903.
Grant-in-aid CUPE 3903-1
Grant-in-Aid (GIA) is additional “non-employment” income paid to Unit 1 members. As “non-employment” income GIA is not taxed. GIA rates for a full TA’ship (1.0 TA’ship) are set in the collective agreement. GIA is paid out in equal monthly installments over the course of your full TA’ship. TA’ships above 1.0 are paid at the base salary rate (with no additional GIA); fractional TA’ships (less than 1.0 TA) receive pro-rated GIA payments.
For 2017-18 the GIA rate was $3866/year, for 2018-19 it was $3866/year and for 2019-20 it was $3955/year (for a 1.0 TA).
In September 2019 York unilaterally changed how GIA payments were received see our What You Really Need to Know About Grant-in-Aid page for more information.
Retro-grant-in-aid CUPE 3903
Increases to Grant-in-Aid (GIA) amounts were awarded for each year of the Collective Agreement (2017-2020) by an arbitrator in December 2018. Until the arbitrators ruling York was paying the GIA at 2016-17 rates. By April 2019 you should have been paid retroactive GIA for the difference between the collective agreement rates given above and the 2016-17 rate of $3705/year
Graduate Financial Assistance (GFA)
Your student account statement has details on every charge to and refund from your student account. You should be able to see the date the charge or refund was posted to your account, a description of the item, the amount, the cumulative balance on your account and the monthly statement the charge or refund will appear on.
Regular GFA
Graduate Financial Assistance (GFA) is deposited in your student account and then should be immediately refunded. It is labelled “GS-CUPE Unit 1 Graduate Financial Assistance-Dom” if you’re a domestic student and “GS-CUPE Unit 1 Graduate Financial Assistance-Int”, if you’re an international student. GFA should not be applied to your outstanding balance.
Rates vary depending on whether you are a domestic or international student, and PhD students in priority pool years 2+ get an increased amount.
A negative amount (e.g., -849) indicates money put into your student account. A positive amount (e.g., 849) indicates money withdrawn or charged to your account.
Retroactive GFA Increases
In December 2018 the arbitrator awarded GFA increases of 2.1% for 2017-18, 2.2% for 2018-19, and 2.3% for 2019-20. Until then York was paying the GFA at 2016-17 rates. By April 2019 you should have received the retroactive GFA payments corresponding to these increases. These retroactive payments were still labelled “GS-CUPE Unit 1 Graduate Financial Assistance” but should have been much less than the regular GFA payments. There may be multiple small payments.
For Example: A domestic student in priority pool years 2+ with a 1.0 TA’ship.
The following retroactive increases should have been paid by April 2019. Retroactive increases are calculated using the formula, (Corrected rate; CA rate with increases applied) – (16/17 rate originally payed) = retroactive increase owed.
- F17 – $831 – $814 = $17
- W18 – $831 – $814 = $17
- S18 – $831 – $814 = $17
- F18 – $849 – $814 = $35
In this example the member may have seen the above retroactive payments deposited to their students account on or about the same time. Their student account would have shown the following descriptions and amounts:
- GS-CUPE Unit 1 Graduate Financial Assistance; -17
- GS-CUPE Unit 1 Graduate Financial Assistance; -17
- GS-CUPE Unit 1 Graduate Financial Assistance; -17
- GS-CUPE Unit 1 Graduate Financial Assistance; -35