At the upcoming general members’ meeting (GMM), there will be the elections and two bylaw amendments. The proposed bylaws are in the meeting package that has been delivered to every unit.
1. Motion: Moved that Woodsworth Housing Co-op adopt Bylaw #91, Occupancy Bylaw – Co-op Employees, as an amendment replacing Article 17.4 of Occupancy Bylaw #82.
2. Motion: Moved that Woodsworth Housing Co-op adopt Bylaw #92, to amend the Occupancy Bylaw #82 Article 5.1 (i) Changing locks with Article 5.1 (i) Lock changes and rekeying authority.
Amendment 1 – Occupancy Bylaw, Article 17.4 Co-op Employees
Woodsworth’s On-Call people have been working for Homestarts for the last few years. This solved the problem of the co-op employing members. However, this arrangement is now obviously coming to an end now that we have direct hire employees for management services.
The overall objective of the Occupancy Bylaw amendment is to find a legally sound solution that allows the co-op to hire members to provide on-call coverage for maintenance emergencies. The proposed amendment has been reviewed by the co-op’s lawyer with changes incorporated into it.
The most important new wording relates to contracts – C (iii) Woodsworth will have signed employment contracts with each On-Call worker.
Woodsworth will continue to follow the Ontario Employment Standards Act (ESA):
This includes:
Proper payroll deductions.
Tracking hours worked.
Ensuring at least minimum wage is paid.
Vacation pay and vacation time.
Public holiday entitlements and pay.
Proper notice or termination pay.
Subsection (e) about Live-In Staff is in the original bylaw and has been carried forward as-is in case it needs to be used in the future.
Amendment 2 – Article 5.1 (i) Lock changes and rekeying authority
Rationale: Woodsworth has a master key system installed in January 2023. Woodsworth voted to switch to a Master Key System to reduce the number of keys in circulation (a security risk) and also to facilitate co-op access to units for repair work, or in case of emergency.