Monday, April 12, 2021

Board of Governors approves revisions to pregnancy and parental leave policy

On Tuesday, April 6, the University’s Board of Governors approved a revised Policy 14: Pregnancy and Parental Leaves (including Adoption), and the Return to Work. Eligible employees who begin one of these leaves on or after April 6 have access to the provisions included within the revised policy.

“The decision to start a family is one of the most significant decisions any of us will ever make, and the University of Waterloo should be at the forefront in supporting its employees and their families, particularly in light of our commitments to gender equity,” wrote President Feridun Hamdullahpur in a memo circulated to employees this morning. “Employees should never feel that their financial situation, much less their employment, is at risk when weighing their family planning choices, and in fact, they should feel that their workplace cares and supports them.”

In comparison with the previous version of the policy, there are several changes. Two key changes pertain to the level and duration of benefits during these leaves of absence:

*Employment Insurance (EI) provides eligible employees with a maternity/parental benefit of 55 per cent of earnings, to a maximum of $595 per week as of January 1, 2021 (eligibility for EI is not a requirement for Policy 14 eligibility)

Other changes include:

• benefits are now not shared when both parents are Waterloo employees;
• updates that reflect 2017 changes to federal and provincial benefits and leaves;
• expanding the eligibility criteria so that more employees have support; and
• recognition that employees returning from leave will need to balance pressures associated with parental and professional responsibilities.

A policy development committee, chaired by Professor Moira Glerum, engaged in consultations with the University community and the draft policy underwent a thorough review process at both staff and faculty relations committees. President Hamdullahpur brought the revised policy to Senate in March for information and comment and to the Board of Governors on April 6 for approval.

If you wish to review the new policy, it is available on the Secretariat’s website, and supplemental information can be found on the Human Resources website.

“These revisions signify our commitment to further build a caring environment and improve our competitiveness relative to our peer institutions. The approved changes are quite simply the right thing to do – the University of Waterloo should be a leader, not a follower, in this important area.” President Hamdullahpur writes.

To support University employees, Human Resources (HR) will:

• Continue to provide information on the previous Policy version (pre-April 6) for employees currently on leave.
• Develop and maintain new information to support employees planning a leave post April 6 who will use the revised Policy. The revisions to the website will include a new checklist and instructions regarding the corresponding process.
• Contact all employees who have submitted a request for leave through Workday with a start date of April 6, 2021 or later. 

“We thank you in advance for your patience as we train new and existing staff, and revise our processes and communications to best support you,” says a note from Human Resources.

Managers with questions about the Policy revision should contact their HR Partner. Employees with questions about the revised Policy should contact HRHelp@uwaterloo.ca.

Information sessions will walk employees through benefit changes

Changes to the University of Waterloo benefits plan approved at the February 2021 and April 2021 Board of Governors meetings will come into effect on May 1, 2021.

"To help you prepare for the changes, the University of Waterloo benefit plan provider, Canada Life (formerly Great West Life), will be hosting public information sessions in April and May," says a memo from Human Resources that was circulated to benefit plan members last week. "Information sessions will cover changes to the benefit plan, next steps to take and address questions you may have."

If you attend a session, you can expect to hear about benefits changes for:

• in vitro fertilization (IVF),
• continuous glucose monitors,
• vision care,
• age for dependent children,
• enhanced paramedical and out-of-country coverage, and
• prescription drug management programs.

Following the presentation, representatives from Canada Life and Human Resources will be available to answer questions.

"We’re keen for you to attend a session and we have asked managers to allow you the time to attend," says the note from HR. "The meetings will each be one hour in length and hosted on Microsoft Teams. Please register online."

The sessions are scheduled as follows:

• Tuesday, April 20, 12 noon to 1:00 p.m.;
• Wednesday, April 21, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.;
• Monday, May 17, 11:00 a.m. to 12 noon;
• Thursday, May 20, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

In the event you are unable to attend, a copy of the presentation will be posted after April 20, 2021.

Innovation shines at engineering pitch contest

By Carol Truemner. This is an excerpt of an article originally published on the Faculty of Engineering website.

All six teams that earned $10,000 each at engineering's pitch contest developed creative solutions to challenges ranging from making rock climbing safer to providing spinal cord injury patients with increased mobility.

The winning teams of senior-year engineering students were narrowed down from 10 who took three minutes each to explain their projects to a panel of judges in the Norman Esch Entrepreneurship Awards for Capstone Design contest held remotely on April 8.

For the past eight months, students have been mainly working on their Capstone Design projects remotely rather than together on campus due to the pandemic.  

One of those projects, a device to allow people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) to be more mobile, earned $10,000 in the pitch competition along with $3,000 as the winner of the Sedra People’s Choice Award.

Members of Bless Your Sole – mechanical engineering students Anna Xiang, Debrish Sarma, Milos Zivkovic, Taha Malik,Trevor Zhu and Vatsalya Saini – developed the Lock Step,  an ankle exoskeleton powered by an onboard linear actuator system allowing for freedom of mobility.

“From our testing we’ve concluded there’s a 46.5 per cent overall ankle torque reduction and an 11 per cent less peak muscle engagement during push-off phase resulting in reduced risk for injury,” said Malik.

Team members noted that the cost of their device is estimated to be $2,600, 20 times less expensive than their closest competitor.

“Our product aims to be more of a consumer-oriented exoskeleton whereas the current exoskeletons in this market are more research-oriented so they are more one-off designs,” said Malik. “We aim to take our technology and put it in the hands of as many people as we can.”  

The other winning teams are:

Canadian Ibex (Daniel Bell, Christopher Friedel, Peter Morrow and Justin Swinoga—mechanical engineering)

The four rock-climbing enthusiasts developed a reusable fall-breaking anchoring device designed to absorb energy from a fall using a frictional brake. 

“During testing, the device resulted in a 30 per cent reduction in peak force on the climbing gear, which is in line with the single-use competition,” said Friedel. “At large falls this could make the difference between spinal cord issues and simply walking it off.”

Read the rest of the article on the Faculty of Engineering website.

The Network Effect, Narratives of Dislocation, and other notes

"A phenomenon by which the value of goods and/or services is increased by the number of people or participants involved," says a note from GEDI. "This is known as "The Network Effect.” When properly utilized, this effect can lead to accelerating progress and commercial success."

"Please join us for 30 minutes at the next GEDI Exchange webinar with the Nuclear Innovation Institute and CEO-P2P as these two members discuss the effectiveness of organizing collaboration and teamwork. If you have a few extra minutes, there will also be 10 minutes of audience Q&A after the discussion." 

For more information and to register for event, which will be held on April 20, visit the GEDIx: A 30-minute Exchange page. To view more events from this series, visit the Past GEDIx webinars site.

Renison University College and the Waterloo Public Library will be hosting Finding Refuge in Canada: Narratives of Dislocation on April 20, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. 

"Millions of people are displaced each year by war, persecution, and famine and the global refugee population continues to grow," says a note from the event organizers. "Canada has often been regarded as a benevolent country, welcoming refugees from around the globe. However, refugees have encountered varying kinds of reception in Canada. Finding Refuge in Canada: Narratives of Dislocation (AUP, 2021) is a collection of personal narratives about the refugee experience in Canada. It includes critical perspectives from authors from diverse backgrounds, including refugees, advocates, front-line workers, private sponsors, and civil servants."

"The narratives dominant public discourse about refugee identities and histories and provide deep insight into the social, political, and cultural challenges and opportunities that refugees experience in Canada. Contributors consider Canada’s response to various groups of refugees and how Canadian perspectives on war, conflict, and peace are constructed through the refugee support experience. These individual stories humanize the global refugee crisis and challenge readers to reflect on the transformative potential of more equitable policies and processes."

"Selected chapter contributors will do a short reading from their chapters and engage in dialogue about their experiences. This event will also celebrate the launch of the book and the website: The Refugee Story Bank of Canada (www.refugeestorybank.ca), which is a repository for stories by those who have sought refuge in Canada from violence, war, oppression, discrimination, and persecution."

This project was supported by research grant from the Renison University College affiliated with the University of Waterloo. The event will be hosted by Ismaila Alfa of CBC Toronto. Register online at Eventbrite. Attendance is free.

Plant Operations would like to remind everyone about the launch of their new Service Interruption platform. The new web-based system allows users to self-register and manage their notification preferences for various types of service interruptions (power outages, elevator maintenance, water shut-offs, etc.) and impacted locations. This new platform replaces the old “shut-down notices”, which will be phased out after Friday, April 16. Anyone wishing to receive notifications should ensure they subscribe to the new system at https://uwaterloo.ca/plant-operations/service-interruptions.