Alexis Hinde
Alexis Hinde is an Assistant Business Agent and Field Rep with the Directors Guild of Canada, British Columbia. She publishes a column entitled Debunking Collective Agreement Myths with Alexis Hinde for the DGC BC's Newsletter to Members and a column in LOGLINE for DGC BC Permittee Logbook Holders.
Notes From the Field: WHAT ARE THESE DEDUCTIONS ON MY PAY STUB?
I know everyone's familiar with the usual deductions: EI, CPP, and Income Tax. Those ones are unavoidable. But what are all of these other things?
- GWLManBT aka RRSP - This looks like a deduction, but it's not! It's actually a percentage paid on top of your gross wages, by the Employer, for a Pension amount. The amount you're entitled to varies from 3.5% to 8.5%, depending on the rate sheet for the show you're working on. While you're still a Non-Member, this amount is paid to you directly on each cheque. Once you're a Member, that percentage goes into the Pension Plan of Awesomeness (AKA CEIRP.ca) and starts accumulating as an RRSP investment in your name.
- Work Dues aka Dues - This is a deduction. It's the 2% that is deducted from your pay and remitted to the Guild on your behalf. Everyone working under a DGC contract, whether a Member or not, has 2% deducted. It goes to the local District Council and funds our ability to carry out the initiatives and policies of the Executive Board.
- Permit Fee - This is a daily fee every Non-Member working under a DGC contract. For PAs, it's $5/day. For any category higher than PA (TAD, TAL, Scout, ALM, 3rd AD, AAD-BKC, etc) the permit fee is $25/day. Once you become a Member, that permit fee stops for the next payroll period. #membershiphasitsprivileges
In addition to these items, there's an amount the Employers pay on your behalf, again on top of your gross wages, that goes into the Guild's national Health and Welfare fund. Typically this amount is 4% + $12/day, and it's remitted in your name.
These contributions from a two-year period, ending on June 30, will determine which level of coverage you qualify for once you make your application for Membership. As an example, July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2020, is the 24 month period used to determine 2021 coverage levels. This applies to the entire year, so someone joining in November 2021 would still use this calculation to determine their coverage level.
If you have any questions, as always I'm delighted to hear from you via email or by phone at 604-688-2976.