HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeguin 03-02-02
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IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
BETWEEN:
FRENCH RIVER LAND AMBULANCE SERVICE/SERVICE
D'AMBULANCE TERRESTRE DE LA RIVIERE DES FRANCAIS INC.
(The "Company")
AND
ONTARIO PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYEES UNION AND ITS LOCAL
628
( The "Union")
AND IN THE MATTER OF A POLICY/GROUP GRIEVANCE
JANICE JOHNSTON - SOLE ARBITRATOR
APPEARANCES:
For the Employer: Donald Robinson QC
Mark Urbanski
Mike Bigras
For the Union:
Hilary Cook
Muriel Ethier
Denis Seguin
Maureen Sagadore
A Hearing in this matter was held in Sudbury on January 29, 2003.
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AWARD
By letter dated September 16, 2002, the parties requested that I sit as a sole
arbitrator with regard to a policy/group grievance dealing with the issue of severance
pay.
At issue between the parties is the interpretation of article 12 (7) (b) and (c) of
the collective agreement in force from April 1, 1998, to March 31, 2001. That portion of
the collective agreement reads:
b. Where an employee is employed by the purchaser at the employee's
hourly rate of pay as of the date of the sale and where the employee's
service as of the date of the sale is recognized by the purchaser for the
purpose of vacation entitlement, wage grid position and severance pay on
termination by the purchaser or death of the employee, the employee will
be deemed to have resigned and severance pay will not be applicable. If
the employee declines such an offer of employment, it will be deemed that
he has refused an offer of reasonable continued employment and he will
not be eligible for any severance pay unless the employee is eligible for
severance pay under Article 7.2(e) (Factor 80) prior to the date of sale.
c. In the event that an employee does not receive an offer of employment
by the purchaser and is terminated by the employer or receives an offer of
employment that is less than his hourly rate of pay as of the date of the
sale or that does not recognize his service as of the date of the sale for
the purpose of vacation entitlement, wage grid position and severance
pay on termination by the purchaser or death of the employee, he will be
eligible for severance pay under the collective agreement whether he
declines or accepts such job offer.
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After carefully considering the evidence before me and the submissions of the
parties, I have determined that the grievance shall be resolved by amending the
collective agreement currently in force between the parties as indicated below for all
employees formerly employed by the Noelville ambulance service. Accordingly, I hereby
declare and direct that:
1. Appendix "M" shall be amended to show an individual's actual start
date. That date will be utilized for the calculation of vacation entitlement.
2. For the purposes of placement in the wage grid and entitlement to
severance pay, the calculation shall be based on "calculated years" for
full-time employees and "calculated hours" for part-time employees as set
out in Appendix "M".
3. On the seniority list for part-time employees, the reference to "hours"
shall be deleted.
4. On the seniority list for part-time employees, the column "calculated
hours" shall reflect all hours worked by that individual from his or her start
date.
5. The employer shall provide to the union by February 25,2003, an
updated full-time and part-time seniority list that reflects hours and years
worked by individuals up to December 31, 2002.
6. As a result of the changes set out herein to the collective agreement,
should any employee be entitled to additional compensation, the employer
shall pay any monies owed to employees within thirty (30) days of the
date of this decision.
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7. Article 10.03 of the current collective agreement shall be amended to
delete the words "beginning January 1st, 2001 and" found in the third line
of that article.
In the event that the parties have any difficulties with regard to the
implementation and interpretation of this award, I will remain seized.
Dated at Toronto, Ontario, this 2nd day of February, 2003
Ja ice Johnston
ole Arbitrator