I was told that the employer was “trying to take away severance pay” however this is confusing. Isn't the employer bound by the Canada Labour Code which has a minimum requirement for severance pay when an employee quits their job?
Yukon government workers are not governed the Canada Labour Code, but by the Yukon Public Service Labour Relations Act. There is no default legislation like the Yukon Employment Standards Act or the Code because the Government of Yukon has exempted themselves from such labour standards legislation.
Even though there are statutory minimums, the current severance provisions amount to the equivalent of 1.9% of your income that is set aside on your behalf each and every year. This is far beyond any statutory minimums you may find elsewhere. Taking away 1.9% is still a concession and what YG members have is certainly a large step up from the labour code.