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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-0316.Gillies & Botham.89-09-28 ONTARIO EMPL C)Y~$ DE LA COURONNE CROWN EMPLOYEES DE L 'ONTA~O GRIEVANCE CpMMlSSlON DE S~LEMENT REGLEMENT BOARD DES GRIEFS 780 ~NDAS STREET WEST, TORONTO, ONTARIO, MSG 1Z8- SUITE 2100 ~LEPHONE/T~PHONE 180, RUE DUNDAS OUES~ TORONT~ ~NTARIO) MSG 1Z8- BUR~U 2100 (416~ 5~-~8 03t 6/88, 0339/88 IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION Under THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT Before THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD Between: OPSEU (B. Gillies & R. Botham) Grievors and The Crown in Ri§ht of Ontario (Ministry of Correctional Services) Employer Before: J.W. Samuels Vice-Chairperson L. Robbins Member D,A, Wallace Member For the Grievor: M, Bevan Grievance Officer Ontario Public Service Employees Union For the Employer: M. Galway Staff Relations Officer Staff Relations Branch Ministry of Correctional Services Heari~9: September 7, 1988 DECISION 2 Thc grievors claim that they were laid off when they were scheduled off work on a statutory holiday, and that the Employer violated Article 24 of the collective agreement because less senior or unclassified employees did work the holiday. Both grievors were initially scheduled to work on April 1, 1988, which was Good Friday, and April 4, which was Easter Monday. They..are both employed in Unit 4 at the Maplehurst Correctional Centre. The complement in this unit is reduced on statutory holidays. On February 29, both grievors were told that they would not be required to work on April 1. The next day, Mr. Gillies was advised that he would be off on April 4 as well. They were both paid the regular holiday pay at the' straight-time rate for the days they didn't work. And they both returned to work on their next scheduled shifts after the holidays. Mr. P. Sheffield, who was the Unit Supervisor at the time, explained that the complement for those two days was made up according to a long- standing policy which was reduced to writing by the Superintendent of the facility in January i988. According to this policy, on statutory holidays there is no natural resource position required. Mr. Gillies was a Natural 'Resources Gang Officer. Therefore he wasn't needed, As well, according to the policy, there is no need for a relief officer on statutory holidays. On April 1, Mr. Botham, who rotates jobs through a 20-week cycle, was a relief officer. Therefore he wasn't needed. The issue before us is whether the grievors were laid off on these statutory holidays. Article 24.17 defines "lay-off" to mean the same as. "release" in section 22(4) of the Public Service Act. This latter section reads: A deputy minister may release from employment in accordance with the regulations any public servant where he considers it necessary by reason of shortage of work or funds or ~e abolition of a position or other material change in organization. In our view, "lay-off" involves a relea,Se from employment. The employee is taken off the payroll. ,, This' is not what happened here at all. The two grievors were simply not scheduled to work on a statutory holiday. ;:They were not taken off the payroll. They received statutory holiday pay. They worked their scheduled shifts before the holiday and resumed working ttleir scheduled shifts after the holiday. This Board has said often that an employe~e is not entitled to work on a statutory holiday. The Employer may assign Whomever it wishes to work the holiday. See for example, Ferguson, 78182 0'olliffe); McCormick, 386181 (Barton); and Birse, 338183 and 339/83 (,Samuels). The grievors had no contractual fight to!work the statutory holidays under the collective ag/'eement, and they we, ye not laid off. For these reasons, their grievances are dismissed. 4 Though the grievors had no contractual rights in this situation, they had raised a matter which disclosed an element of unfairness towards senior full-time officers. In June 1988, after the grievances were filed, the Superintendent of the institution modified the staffing policy for statutory holidays because he thought that the grievors had raised a good point. Henceforth, 40-hour unclassified staff would not be scheduled on statutory holidays if there were full-time employees to do the work, and these full- time employees would be assigned on a seniority basis. Done at London, Ontario, this ~S~h day of September , I988.