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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHedges 91-12-30 J - r ' Concerning an arbitration Between: Norfolk Board of Education and Ontario Public Service Employees Union, Local 221 Grievance of J. Hedges, job competition Board of Arbitration J. W. Samuels, Chairman M. H. McCleery, Board Nominee J. D. McManus, Union Nominee For the Parties Union M. Bevan, Grievance Officer J. Hedges, Grievor Board M. L. George, Counsel S. Wilkinson, Personnel Officer H. Ibbotson, Principal, Delhi District Secondary School B. Holdsworth, Chief Secretary, Delhi District Secondary School Hearing in Simcoe, November 25, 1991 91C156 Local 221 " 1 The grievor is employed by the Board as a Secondary School Secretary at the Simcoe Composite Secondary School. Her primary responsibilities are attendance-keeping and related tasks. In January 1991, she applied for a position of Secondary School Secretary at the Delhi District Secondary School. She wanted to move to Delhi because it is closer to her home. She was not successful, losing out to a less senior part- time secretary, who was working already at Delhi District Secondary School. The grievor claims that she ought to have been awarded the position, pursuant to Article 16.03 of the collective agreement. This provision says that, during the selection process, the Board is to consider qualifications, experience and skills; and, if bargaining unit candidates are "relatively equal" with respect to these factors, the employee with the most seniority shall be given preference. The grievor says that she is at least "relatively equal" to the successful applicant, Ms. J. Clement-Ploj, and therefore ought to have been successful, given her (the grievor's) greater seniority. The job involved in the competition was described in a memorandum attached to the posting. This job description is appended to this award. It is a description which encompasses virtually all of the tasks which might be performed from time to time by a Secondary School Secretary. However, nonnally each secretary has particular responsibilities and fills in with other tasks as required. The opening at Delhi District Secondary School came about as a result of the move by Ms. Karen Swing to Langton Public School. Ms. Swing's primary responsibilities were attendance-keeping and related tasks. But when she left, the Principal and Chief Secretary at Delhi were not sure that the new person would simply fill Ms. Swing's shoes-there was the possibility of some rearrangement of duties in the school. In fact, after " , '. t , \', . , ,~ " . ,., t ' 2 Ms. Clement-Ploj took over, her job was essentially the same as had been Ms. Swing's-80-90% of the work is related to attendance. Thus, there was the possibility, and it turned out to be the case, that the vacant position was in fact virtually the same job at Delhi District Secondary School as the grievor was performing at a bigger school, Simcoe Composite. How could it be that the grievor was not found'to be at least "relatively equal" in a competition for a job which she was already performing well? The answer lies in the considerations taken into account and the method of selection by Mr. H. Ibbotson, the Principal at Delhi District. Before looking at these matters, a word about the evidence submitted to us at our hearing. Notes were taken concerning the interviews, and perhaps other matters, and there were typing tests gathered during the selection process-but none of this was available to us. Mr. Ibbotson, who made the final selection, and Ms. B. Holdsworth, the Chief Secretary at Delhi District Secondary School, testified that they kept these materials only for a short period and then trashed them. By the time they learned that a grievance was filed (a grievance which was timely), the materials were gone. Hence, we had only the benefit of their testimony, which in a number of crucial ways was not as full as it might have been. Mr. Ibbotson, in particular, had to respond that he "could not recall" to a number of important questions, such as, for instance, whether he made any enquiry of anyone at Simcoe Composite concerning the grievor's performance. So with this background, let us look at the considerations which were taken into account and the method of selection by Mr. Ibbotson. Firstly, Mr. Ibbotson whittled the nineteen applications down to five (which included the grievor and Ms. Clement-Ploj), and set up an interview ~ . ',~ "'1 3 panel to meet with these five applicants and to consider in detail the resumés submitted. The panel consisted of himself, Ms. Holdsworth and Mr. Finnie (the Vice-Principal at Delhi District). All three of these people knew Ms. Clement-Ploj well-indeed, Ms. Holdsworth was one of her references-and there seems little doubt that it was a factor in their minds that they knew Ms. Clement-PI oj to be a very good employee. The grievor, on the other hand, didn't have the opportunity to have that factor in her favor-she wasn't known to the three members of the panel, and there appears to have been no real effort made to find out what kind of employee she was. In fact, from two letters submitted by the grievor at our hearing, it appears that she would have had very good reports from her references-one of the Board's Superintendents, Mr. J. R. Beamer, who had been Principal at Simcoe Composite, and from Mr. J. Verbakel, a Vice-Principal at Simcoe. Secondly, Mr. Ibbotson and the others were concerned that the grievor had not done well in her typing test. But, in our view, this typing test was fatally flawed and ought to have fonned no part of the decision- making process. The test was administered by Ms. Holdsworth to each of the five candidates, immediately after each interview. The candidates were given a handwritten eligibility list, and a handwritten letter, and they were to turn these documents into type on either a computer or a typewriter. The grievor seems to have come 4th or 5th, and the successful applicant came 1 st or 2nd in the typing test. Ms. Holdsworth appears to have given no particular significant instructions other than that the applicants were to type out the handwritten eligibility list and letter. The rules of the typing test were not made clear to the applicants. And this resulted in two very serious problems: . the grievor thought that she was to do the test in the traditional way, as she had done tests at Fanshawe College and earlier in high school, and not correct her errors. As a result, she handed in her - . ~ - t - 4 work, knowing that there were about five errors in it. It would appear from Ms. Holdsworth's testimony that most of the other candidates interpreted the test in that way, and therefore the grievor's work, with its errors, was not of the same quality as most of the others. In particular, Ms. Clement-Ploj did her test using a word processor on a computer, so that the errors she knew about were corrected electronically before the material was printed out. In our view, the grievor's understanding of the rules was a reasonable one, and in these circumstances it was simply unfair to rate her poorly when she failed to correct errors which she knew were there. For all we know from the testimony at our hearing, the grievor's work would have been perfect had she corrected her errors, as others had done, and the grievor would have done the best on the typing test. . Ms. Holdsworth told the candidates that they would not be timed while they did the typing, but she did time them and she took the times into consideration. For the grievor, it appears that this would have been a particular problem, because the first typewriter she used was not working properly, so she changed machines and started all over again. It appears that, because of a malfunction which was not her fault in any way, the grievor was prejudiced by being unknowingly timed by Ms. Holdsworth. Had the grievor known that she was being timed, she would have ensured that the machine was working properly, and that Ms. Holdsworth did not start timing her until she began to work on the second typewriter. In sum, this typing test, which was an important consideration to Mr. Ibbotson and his colleagues, was so flawed that it ought to have fonned no part of their consideration. 5 Thirdly, Mr. Ibbotson told us that he gave a great deal of weight to the fact that Ms. Clement-Ploj had experience at Delhi District Secondary School in attendance, library, and student services, and that she had ten years' experience in an insurance company before coming to the school. To Mr. Ibbotson, this experience gave a big edge to Ms. Clement-Ploj over the grievor, who had no significant secretarial/clerical experience before coming to Simcoe Composite and who had worked primarily on attendance while at Simcoe. Ms. Clement-Ploj's experience meant that she was a superior candidate for the position of Secondary School Secretary in the general sense. In our view, there are a number of problems with this conclusion reached by Mr. Ibbotson: . We do not know how decisive this difference in experience would have been to Mr.. Ibbotson if he had not already given Ms. Clement-Ploj some edge because he knew her work well, and if . he had not had the report from Ms. Holdsworth about the typing test. . The tasks described in the job description for the Secondary School Secretary are essentially clerical and secretarial-typing; keeping records; filing; dealing with staff, students, and parents on routine matters. Two things can be said about this type of job--firstly, generally experience gained in one environment is useful in another, because the essential nature of the tasks perfonned remains the same; and, secondly, after a good basic grounding in these tasks, the employee does not become significantly better at them with more experience. In our case, the grievor had a full year's experience in a clericaVsecretarial position at Simcoe Composite, and this ought to have given her sufficient experience in all the significant tasks of the Secondary School Secretary. It is very likely that the grievor's experience in ~ . . ¡, ;, '" ;¡; "- , . 6 these tasks gave her at least as much ability and skill as Ms. Clement-Ploj, though the latter had spent more time in clerical/secretarial positions. . A very important particular task which does require significant training is the maintenance of the attendance system, which is done on the computer, and requires a good understanding of the software. And, in this work, the grievor had a considerable edge, which Mr. Ibbotson and Ms. Holdsworth didn't seem to know about and didn't take into account at all. The grievor was familiar with both the Pcemas system (which had been used at Simcoe when she started, and is still being used at Delhi), and the Maplewood system (which is now in place in Simcoe and was sure to come to Delhi within a short time-Mr. Ibbotson told us that he now expected Maplewood to be in place at Delhi by mid- February 1992). On the other hand, it appears that no one at . Delhi had any familiarity with Maplewood. The grievor's experience would be invaluable in the smooth transition to Maplewood at Delhi. . The grievor did not have experience only in the attendance area at Simcoe. In the first place, she would do some other clerical and secretarial work during a normal week. And, secondly, over the summers and during break periods, she would have no attendance work to do and would be doing exclusively other clerical and secretarial work. So the grievor would naturally have exposure to other areas at Simcoe Composite, but Mr. Ibbotson knew nothing of this other experience, made no enquiries about it, and did not take it into account in his deliberations. . Ms. Clement-Ploj's experience at Delhi District Secondary School appears to include more experience in the student services area than the grievor had at Simcoe, but most of this experience was 7 with tasks which could be picked up readily by an alert Secondary School Secretary. And, in any event, this student services work was not a significant element of the job when Karen Swing had it, and it has never been a significant element of the job since Ms. Clement-Ploj took over. . Ms. Clement-Ploj's experience in the insurance business is not very significant in detennining the relative qualifications of Ms. Clement-Ploj and the grievor. To the extent that this experience was general clerical and secretarial work, this is work which can be learned in fairly short order and additional experience makes no significant difference. The grievor received an Office Systems Diploma from Fanshawe College in 1988, and has over a year's seniority at Simcoe Composite-for the doing of general clerical and secretarial tasks, there is no significant advantage in more experience than this. Whatever special experience Ms. Clement- Ploj may have had in the insurance business itself, this was not of much relevance to a job in the school. In sum, in our view, Mr. Ibbotson and his colleagues over-weighted Ms. Clement-Ploj's qualifications and experience because they knew Ms. Clement-Ploj well and did not know the grievor (this was not deliberate bias, but nonetheless was a significant factor); they gave considerable weight to a typing test which was fatally flawed; they failed to take into account the grievor's general secretarial and clerical experience at Simcoe Composite, viewing her as having experience essentially only with attendance, when this would clearly not be the case; they failed to give appropriate weight to the grievor's special expertise in the Maplewood system; and they failed to give the grievor's qualifications and experience appropriate weight, in light of the tasks which have to be perfonned by the Secondary School Secretary. = '!Ì L.. . . 8 In these circumstances, the Board's selection process was seriously flawed. Factors which ought to have been considered were not considered. Factors which ought to have been ignored were considered and given significant weight. Because of these flaws, the selection process was not an adequate vehicle for the proper determination of the relative qualifications, experience and skills of the two candidates. For these reasons, we allow the grievance and order that the Board reconsider the applications of Ms. Clement-PI oj and the grievor. Because it is impossible to run the clock back, the two applications will have to be considered in today's context. The position involved is the job now being done by Ms. Clement-Ploj. The two candidates are to be judged on the qualifications, experience and skills which they now possess for this job. The determination of their relative qualifications, experience and skills should be done by a person or group of people, none of whom know either of the two candidates. The decision-maker(s) should gather all the relevant information, including references from people who know the work of each candidate. This information can be gathered by written submissions, interviews, and/or skill-testing. If it is decided to test the candidates' skills (eg. a typing test), then the decision-maker(s) must ensure that the rules of the test are clearly established, that both candidates understand the rules of the test, and that the test is administered in a fair and reasonable manner. The decision-maker(s) should retain any notes, tests, and other documents related to the selection procedure at least until the time for filing a grievance has passed. If the decision-maker(s) conclude that the grievor is at least relatively equal in qualifications, experience and skills to Ms. Clement-Ploj, then the grievor is to be put in the position because she has greater seniority. Because this would be a lateral transfer for the grievor, we will make no award of any monetary compensation. ., .~ .', I 9 We will reserve our jurisdiction to detennine any issues which arise in the implementation of this award. Done at London, Ontario, this '5 0 tt. day of ~ a.--- h., 1991. l ~ '.~{, ~ "- tr...LJ M. H. McCleery, Board Nominee o~~\ J. D, McManus, Union Nominee :, " . . . THE NORFOLK BOARD OF EDUCATION JOB DESCRIPTION I~_.: REPORTS TO: A Secondary School Principal Through A Chief Secretary WORK LOCATION(S) AND WORK TIME(S): 1. 2. Works in a Secondary School Thirty-Five Hour Week, Full Year PREREQUISITES FOR POSITION: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Grade TWelve, OSSGD (OSSD) plus or including Senior Courses in Office Practice and Accounting Above average competence in Spelling, Grammar, Composition, Mathematical and Organizational Skills. Additional skills in Speed writing or Shorthand and Word Processing would be an asset Experience in an office preferably in an Educational Environment would be an asset Knowledge of how to operate a Computer, a Typewriter, a Copier and a Calculator. The ability to make simple repairs and adjustments to these pieces of equipment would be an asset Skill in dealing with people and the ability to maintain confidentiality Ability to communicate effectively both in writing and verbally KEY JOB REQUlREl\1ENTS: 1. 2. 3. 4. Act as Secretary to a person or to persons in the workplace Share in the provision of Secretarial Services Assist in the maintenance of School Financial Records if assigned Be prepared to assume the duties of the Chief Secretary or other School Office secretaries, as required , .;, . , SPECIFIC JOB FUNCTIONS: 1. ACT AS SECRETARY TO A PERSON OR TO PERSONS IN THE WORK PLACE (as assigned by the Chief Secretary in consultation with the Principal. These persons may include the Vice-Principal,- the Head of Students Services and the School Librarian) (a) (b) Secretary to the Vice-Principal or Attendance Secretary . Take, edit and transcribe correspondence, reports, agendas and minutes as required . Deal with incoming correspondence including the opening and sorting of correspondence and the composing of some draft responses Deal with incOming telephone calls Organize and maintain files Schedule and complete arrangements for meetings and appointments Gather and collate information through questionnaires or by telephone, as required In the absence of the supervisor, .take such actions as may be required to facilitate hislher work Staff the attendance desk Telephone selected absentees as required by school policy Prepare a daily attendance report for the Vice-Principal and the teachers Organize and maintain attendance records including records of lates Maintain class registers Prepare month end reports on attendance and registration for inclusion in the Principal's Month End Report Assist in the preparation of the September Statistical Report , Prepare requisitions and keep track of purchase orders and budget information, as required Maintain and update inventories for the supervisor Process Books, Documents, Films, Cassettes and Magazines for Library . . . . . . . .' . . . . . . . . The Student Services Department . . . . . . . . . . Take, edit and transcribe correspondence, reports, agendas and minutes as required Deal with incoming correspondence including the opening and sorting of correspondence and the composing of some draft responses Organize and maintain files of correspondence Schedule and complete arrangements for meetings and appointments Gather and collate information through questionnaires or by telephone, as required In the absence of the person(s) for whom the work is being done, take such actions as may be required to facilitate the work of the Department Act as receptionist for the Student Services Department Schedule and monitor Counselling Appointments Organize and maintain student records including Ontario Student Records files Prepare and forward transcripts ,;, , , 2. . . . . Collect and check university and college applications Assist students to find information and to prepare application forms Listen to students express their concerns Monitor students writing individual tests in the Student Services area SHARE IN THE PROVISION OF SECRETARIAL SERVICES TO THE SCHOOL (b) (c) (a) Typing and Word Processing Services . Take, transcribe and distribute the minutes of Heads' Meetings, Staff Meetings and/or Department meetings as assigned ' Serve as computer operator Assist in the organization and typing or printing of Timetables Type and collate examinations Do teacher typing and copying. This may include typing for Driver Education and Co-op programs Type courses of study Type handbooks, newsletters and school calendars Prepare report cards Design and/or prepare programs and agendas for special events . . . . " . . . . Record Keeping and Filing Services . . . . . . Organize and maintain student attendance records Organize and maintain staff attendance records Organize and maintain student behaviour records Organize and maintain the detention room records Organize and maintain school files Organize and maintain the school inventory Admini~rative Services . . . " . . . . . . . . . , Co-ordinate School Meetings and Rentals Co-ordinate Supply Teachers, as assigned by the Vice-Principal Organize and maintain the school key register Collect money for events sponsored by the School Do student copying as permitted Pick up mail at the Post Office and deliver mail to the Post Office Gather and collate information through questionnaires or by telephone, as required Collect text books Register new students Sign in part-time or late students Accept, check and file notes. Register late students Deliver stand-by assignments to teachers Monitor students sent to the Qffice for disciplinary reasons >fÍ . . 3. 4. . . (d) Reception Services . . Answer telephone and deal with persons at the counter Begin the process of dealing with school emergencies in the absence of the Principal, the Vice-Principal and the Chief Secretary Listen for and report on developments which may be of interest or of concern to the school administrators . ASSIST IN THE MAINTENANCE OF SCHOOL FINANCIAL RECORDS IF ASSIGNED. This could include: . . . . . . . . Manage the school petty cash Keep records of school funds ' Reconcile the monthly bank statements Keep records of the school budget Type requisitions Record and file purchase orders Receive and acknowledge deliveries Transport bank deposits' to the bank BE PREPARED TO ASSUME THE DUTIES OF THE CHIEF SECRETARY AND OTIŒK SCHOOL OFFICE SECRETARIES, AS REQUIRED . . Assume the duties of the Chief Secretary as assigned by the Principal Assume the duties of other secretaries in the School Office for short periods of time !i . "- . DISSENT OF BOARD MEMBER MICHAEL H. McCLEEHY 1. I have read the op1nion of the Cha1rman 1n th1S matter and w1th respect, I must dissent. 2. While I cannot find that the selection procedures in this matter could not have been improved, (in the real wor ld, noth1ng 1S perfect), I find insufficient deficiencies to set aside the unanimous decision of the bargaining unit personnel, (the head secretary) and the professional educational personnel, <the vice- princ1pal and the principal) regarding the selection of Ms. Clement-ploy (the successful applicant) rather than the griever. 3. It is agreed that there is less than three (3) months difference in seniority between the successful applicant and the griever with the Board of Education. 4. The uncontradicted evidence is that the successful applicant has ten (10) years of experience in secretarial and administrat1ve positions. In addition, the successful applicant, has a var1ety of experiencie in the very different responsibilities of a secondary school secretary which are lacking in the griever. 5. I find that the slic¡ht three month differences In seniorlt,y between the bargaining unit applicant and the griever are insufficient to set aside the ten (10) years difference in secretarial/administrative experience of the two (2) applicants. 6. Accordingly, I would have dismissed the grievance. ~~' --Mi~h;;ej -II-' MCCj~ Dated at Toronto, Ontario, this ._--~~- day of December, 1991. '" -