Legal advice on collective labor agreements and employment conditions

Questioner

As of January 1, my employer is introducing the Metal and Technology CAO. I have a contract for 40 hours and 30 vacation days. The CAO prescribes a 38-hour work week and 25 vacation days. The employer wants employees to work 40 hours. The employer proposes the following. The salary remains the same despite the 38-hour work week. There will be 5 ADV days to compensate for the 5 vacation days. Employees can purchase more ADV days. My question is, is it correct that the employer is in fact charging the employees for the changes that the CAO entails? The employer is referring to contracts with a 40-hour work week. What if I want to work 38 hours, do I have to give up salary with a 40-hour contract? Thank you very much in advance for your help!

Lawyer

Your employer may not unilaterally change the employment conditions to your disadvantage, not even under the auspices of a collective labor agreement. Changes must be discussed. In that discussion, you may be expected to be flexible. As you describe it, I understand that in fact not much would change for you, except that five vacation days are converted into five ADV days. It is not entirely clear to me where the pain lies for you, but if you try to explain that to me again in a private message, I can advise you regarding your position.