HomeMy WebLinkAboutSt. Denis 92-06-15 IN THE MA'I-rER OF AN ARBITRATION
BETWEEN: ~
FANSHAWE COLLEGE
The Employer
and
ONTARIO PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYEES UNION
The Union
AND IN THE MATTER OF THE GRIEVANCE OF L. ST. DENIS- OPSEU FILE NOS.
91D937 AND 91D38
Sole Arbitrator: D.D. Carter, Chair
J. Grimwood, Union Nominee
R. Hubert, Employer Nominee
Appearances for the Union: M. McFadden, Counsel
P. Musson, Union Local President
G. Fordyce, Union Local Chief Steward
.~ L St. Denis, Grievor
Appearances for the Employer: C.G. Riggs, Court{el R. Gates, Vice President, Community Services
G. Rozell, Human Resources
C. Auger, Director, Student Learning Services
F. Brill, Chair, Manufacturing Sciences Division
A hearing in this matter was held at London on November 20, 1991, and at Toronto
on January 30, 1992, and April 13, 1992.
AWARD
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These two grievances both relate to an understanding reached by the College
Employment Stability Committee (CESC) at Fanshawe College in respect of Linda St.
Denis. That understanding was set out in a memorandum of May 13, 1991, signed by
both the employer and union members of' that committee. The terms of that
memorandum are set out below:
The College Employment Stability Committee recommends a Local
Agreement between Unda St. Denis, the College and the Union Local
which would set out the following:
1: a professional development leave be granted to Linda St. Denis for
1991/92;
2: a retraining package involving the Manufacturing Technician
, program;
t
3: first right to teach available courses she has taught before, during
Summer 1992 and 1993;
4: salary maintenance of 55% for 1992/93;
5: The JESRF will provide any top-up of funds to ensure her salary
at 55% to the end of August 1993.
Linda St. Denis's grievance alleges that .the college violated the collective
agreement by refusing her application for Professional Development Leave and not
carrying out the terms of the understanding reached by the CESC. It further alleges
that the college's later counter-proposal was inconsistent with the terms of the
collective agreement. By way of remedy she asks that the college now provide her
with an arrangement similar to that set out in the understanding of May 13, 1991.
The union in its grievance argues that the college violated the "employment
stability" procedures set out in article 28 of the collective agreement by resiling from the
understanding reached by the CESC and making a counter-proposal to Linda St.
Denis. This grievance seeks a declaration that the college did so with the knowledge
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that Ms. St. Denis was eligible for a professional development leave under the terms
of article 18 of the collective agreement. As well, the union seeks a declaration that
decisions made by the CESC in respect of the use of the Joint Employment Stability
Reserve Fund (JESRF) are binding on the college.
Two issues of considerable importance are raised by these grievances: 1) the
extent to which understandings reached by the CESC are binding upon the college;
2) the extent to which Professional Development Leave (PDL) applies to an employee
facing lay-off. Both of these issues must be placed in the factual context in which
these grievances arose.
The grievor, Linda St. Denis, first began her teaching career at Fanshawe
College in 1984, bringing with her some twenty years of industrial experience. At the
outset of her employment with the college, she taught in the Technical Upgrading
Program and later moved to the Women in Trades and Technology (WI'FI') Program.
In that latter program she taught mathematics, English, life and work skills, as well as.
a number of shop skills. From the evidence it is clear that the grievor enjoyed teaching
and, as a member of the Fanshawe faculty, had made a valuable contribution to the
WIT']' Program. Unfortunately, because of funding cuts, Ms. St. Denis's teaching
Career was placed in jeopardy when she was notified in April of 1991 that she would
be laid off.
Following receipt of her notice of lay-off the grievor met with Helen Adams to
discuss her options. Ms. Adams, as Chairperson of the college's Community Access
Division, had direct responsibility for the WI'Fi' Program. During that discussion the
grievor indicated that she would prefer some form of retraining rather than grieving her
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lay-off. Later, she did discuss the possibility of exercising her bumping rights with Gall
Rozell in Human Resources but, after this discussion, decided against doing so.
The grievor then went to Gary Fordyce of the union to inquire as to whether
there was still money available to fund a professional development leave. After being
advised by Mr. Fordyce that there was still m. oney left for this purpose, the grievor went
back to Ms. Adams and advised her that she would like to pursue this option. Ms.
Adams then told her that she needed to prepare a proposal as the CESC would be
meeting the next week. Following this conversation the grievor prepared and gave to
Ms. Adams a document indicating that she would like to apply for a career
development leave, that she would be willing to consider suggestions about retraining
from the college, and that she was interested in the Manufacturing Engineering
Technician Program.
At the May 13 meeting of CESC an understanding concerning the grievor's
situation was reached, Helen Adams showed the grievor a copy of the memorandum
setting out that understandihg, advised the grievor to apply for the Manufacturing
Engineering Technician Program, and to write a formal proposal for a professional
development leave. In this proposal for professional development leave the grievor
listed a number of benefits to the college that would flow from her proposed course of
study. These benefits all seemed to assume that she would return to teach in the WlTT
program. The grievor gave her proposal to Ms. Adams who said she would sign it and
send it along.
The grievor received no response from the college in respect of this proposal
and assumed that everything was in order. Feeling that there was an agreement with
the college, she then began to organize her life on the assumption that she would be
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on half wages for the next two years while she pursued the Manufacturing Engineering
Technician Program. To this end she sold her house, gave away her dog and cat,
moved in with a girlfriend while she looked for a suitable apartment, and registered in
a mathematics course at college to prepare herself for her upcoming academic
program.
The grievor's expectations were shattered, however, when she began to make
inquiries about how the tuition for her proposed course of studies would be paid. She
phoned Gall Rozell in Human Resources who advised her that the college had decided
not to follow through on the understanding reached by CESC. According to the
grievor, she was told by Ms. Rozell that the college had concerns about the fact that
she would be making money during the co-op placement at the same time as she was
being paid by the college.
The grievor, quite naturally, was upset over this turn of events and phoned Ms.
Rozell again. At this point Ms. Rozell indicated that the college would be offering her
an alternative package that Would not include a professional'development leave. The
grievor then picked up a draft of this proposal from Rozell's office. The substance of
this draft proposal is set out below:
The College is prepared to enter into a local agreement between the
College, Linda St. Denis and the Union which sets out the following:
1) The College would agree to pay full salary to Linda St. Denis for
90 days beginning 01 09 91 inclusive of benefits in accordance with
Article 8.05 (h) (iii) of the current collective agreement.
2) The management members of CESC would be prepared to
support the JESRF topping up of funds to ensure her salary at 55% to
the end of August 31st, 1992, subject to the terms and conditions of this
agreement being met.
3) If Linda is accepted into the Manufacturing Engineering
Technicians Program which is a Co-Op Program, it is strongly
recommended that she participate in the Co-Operative Work Placement
as completion of this program does not qualify her to teach it. The work
placement would assist her in securing employment in that field.
4) If Unda does not' participate in the work placement:
(a) Math levels I & II, if available during the summer of 1992
would be offered to her to teach.
(b) There would be no Co-Op endorsement on the college
certificate which may be detrimental in seeking employment in
manufacturing.
5) (a) As I.Jnda's status is that of a laid-off employee under Article
8.05 she would have recall rights under Article 8.06(a). If she fails to
return upon a recall she would lose seniority rights and employment
deemed terminated under Article 8.10 of the Collective Agreement.
(b) The management representatives of CESC would support
the continuation of the 55% of salary being funded through the JESF until
August 31, 1992.
6) If Linda accepts recall the agreement ceases and the payments
under Paragraph 2 will cease.
7) If Linda is not accepted into or fails the program at any stage prior
to August 31, 1992, the agreement ceases.
8) It is understood and agreed that this agreement is without
precedent and without prejudice to another settlement or individual in the
college.
The grievor, after obtaining this draft, took it to Gary Fordyce of the union who
advised her not to sign it. Nevertheless, the grievor decided that she would take what
the college was then offering, even though she was upset that it had not notified her
of its change in position. She proceeded to sign a document similar to the draft except
that it contained an additional paragraph which stated that "[b]y signing this agreement
6oth the management representatives and the union representatives on the CESC are
indicating their agreement to the use of JESF for the above-mentioned purposes." The
union, however, did not sign this document and its terms were never implemented.
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The college, pursuant to article 8.05 (h)(iii) of the collective agreement, did pay
the grievor full salary for 90 days beginning September 1, 1991. Meanwhile the grievor
completed her mathematics course and began the Manufacturing Engineering
Technician Program. At the end of the ninety days, however, the grievor ran out of
money and withdrew from the program for_ financial and health reasons.
The provisions of the collective agreement relevant to the disposition of these
two grievances are set out below. These provisions are set out in their entirety so that
the scheme underlying both professional development leave and the employment
stability procedures can be thoroughly analyzed.
Article 18
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAVE
18.01 The College recognizes that it is in the interests of employees,
students and the College that employees are given the opportunity by the
College to pursue College-approved professional development activities
outside the College through further academic or technical studies or in
industry where such activities will enhance the ability of the employee
upon return to the College to fulfil professional responsibilities.
18.02 To that end, each College will grant a minimum of two (2) percent
of full-time members of the academic bargaining unit of the College
concerned who have been members of the bargaining unit for a period
of not less than six (6) years, and an additional one (1) percent of full-
time members of the academic bargaining unit of the College concerned
who have been members of the bargaining unit for a period of not less
than fifteen (15) years, to be absent on professional development leave
at any one time in accordance with the following conditions:
(a) the purpose of the leave is for College-approved academic,
technical, industrial or other pursuits where such activities will enhance
the ability of the teacher, counsellor or librarian upon return to the
College;
(b) a suitable substitute can be obtained;
(c) the leave will normally be for a period of from one (1) to twelve
(12) months;
(d) the employee, upon termination of the professional
development leave, will return to the College granting the leave for a
period of at least one (1) year, failing which the employee shall repay the
College all salaries and fringe benefits received by the employee while on
professional development leave;
(e) the salary paid to the employee will be based on the following
scale: fifty-five percent (55%) of the employee's normal salary increasing
by five percent (5%) per year after six (6) years of employment with the
College concerned to a maximum of seventy percent (70%) of the
employee's normal salary after nine (9) years. It is understood that the
College's payment is subject to reduction if the aggregate of the
College's payment and compensati.on or payments from other sources
during the period exceeds the amount of the employee's normal salary.
The amount and conditions of payment will be pro-rated for shorter
leaves;
(f) applications for professional development leave will be
submitted in writing containing a detailed statement of the nature of the
proposed leave and its perceived benefit to the College and the
employee; to the Chair of the Department at least six (6) months prior to
the commencement date;
(g) all applicants will be notified in writing by the President as to
the disposition of their application for professional deVelopment leave;
(h) The College may on its own initiative propose plans of
professional development leave to employees; however no employee
shall be under obligation to accept such a proposal;
(i) the provisions of the Article shall not preclude the College from
Permitting greater numbers of employees to be absent on professional
development leave;
(j) the fulfilment of the minimum of two percent (2%) of full-time
employees on professional development leave (arising out of employee-
initiated leaves) as'set out herein will depend upon the receipt and
approval of the Colleg'e of a sufficient numberof qualified applications in
accordance with the criteria set out above;
(k) in the event that more eligible employees apply for
professional development leave than will be approved, preference shall
be given to the applicants with greater length of service since their last
professional development or sabbatical leave under Article 18 of the
preceding collective agreements;
(I) an applicant who is denied professional development leave
shall be notified in writing of the reasons for the denial. Approval of an
application for professional development leave shall not be unreasonably
withheld;
(m) for professional development leaves that are granted for a
period of less than one (1) year, the payment shall be pro-rated. The
unused portion of the allowable earned leave shall be available to the
teacher, counsellor or librarian, subject to the application and approval
processes of the college and those defined within this article. Payment
for the unused portions of lea~/e when taken shall be paid at the same
proportion of salary as established in Article 18.01(e) when the first
portion was taken.
18.03 An employee in the bargaining unit may take, for a tuition fee of
not more than #20.00, on the employee's own time,
(a) Ministry approved programs or courses,
or
(b) other programs or courses as mutually agreed,
which the College currently offers. The. employee must meet the normal
entrance and admission requirements.
Article 28
EMPLOYMENT STABILITY
28.01 (a)' The parties hereto subscribe to certain objectives and
principles as follows:
(i) that employment stability should be enhanced, within the
resources available, through both long-term and short-term
strategies;
(ii) that such strategies could include, but not necessarily be
restricted to, planning, retraining, early retirement,
alternative assignments, secondments, employee career
counselling, job sharing and professional development;
(iii) that data which is relevant to employment stability should
be made available to both parties;
(iv) that procedures should be in place to deal with situations
that arise in which, notwithstanding the best efforts of both
parties, lay-offs and/or reductions in the number of
employees who have completed the prObatiOnary period
become 'necessary; and,
(v) that resources should be made available to achieve, to the
degree that it is feasible, these objectives and principles.
28.01 (b) The parties have agreed to the following provisions, in order
to achieve, to the degree that it is feasible, the foregoing objectives an
pri0ciples.
28.02 (a) There shall be established, at each College, a College
Employment Stability Committee (CESC).
28.02 (b) Each CESC will be composed of four (4) members, with two
(2) to be appointed by the College and two (2) by the Union Local. The
term of office of each member shall be one (1) year, which may be
renewable, commencing on September 1 of each year. Alternative
arrangements may be made at the local level upon agreement of the
Union Local and the College.
28.03 The functions of the CESC shall be to recommend long-term and
short-term strategies to enhance employment stability, and to administer
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and make decisions with respect to the Joint Employment Stability
Reserve Fund (JESRF) established under 28.08, as specifically prescribed
in 28.04, 28.05 and 28.06.
28.04 The functions of the CESC shall include the making of
recommendations with respect to long-term strategies to enhance
employment stability, having regard to aVailable resources. Activities may
include,but not necessarily be restricted to:
(i) receiving and analyzing data provided under the Collective
Agreement with the dbjective of creating a shared data
base;
(ii) identifying needs for further data collection;
(iii) analyzing, on an ongoing basis, internal and external trends
which may have impact on employment stability, such as
, areas of growth and decline of changing resource levels
and priorities;
(iv) developing strategies including retraining, early retirement,
alternate assignments, secondments, professional leaves,
employee career counselling, job sharing, professional
development, pre-retir, ement planning and voluntary
transfer.
28.05 (a) The functions of the CESC shall include the making of
recommendations with respect to short-term strategies to enhance
employment stability, having regard to available resources. Activities may
include, but not necessarily be restricted to:
(i) receiving data concerning vacancies at other Colleges
under Article 8.1, and distributing information concerning
such vacancies and providing assistance to employees
regarding such vacancies;
(ii) developing strategies including retraining, early retirement,
alternate assignments, secondments, professional leaves,
employee career counselling, job sharing, professional
development, pre-retirement planning and voluntary
transfer;
(ii) identifying local adaptations of other provisions of the
Agreement which may have impact on employment stability.
28.05 (b) The CESC shall perform the functions conferred upon it
under Article 8.04 and Articles 9 and 10.
28.06 The CESC shall administer and make decisions with respect to the
Joint Employment Stability Reserve Fund (JESRF), established under
28.08, by using the JESRF, or such portion as the CESC considers
appropriate, to facilitate employment stability strategies, both long-term
and short-term.
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28.07 (a) The CESC shall make any recommendations that it is
empowered to make under 28.04 and 28.05 and any decisions that it is
empowered to make under 28.06 by majority vote, subject to (b) and (c)
as hereinafter provided. The decision of the CESC under 28.06 shall be
final and binding on the parties and any employee affected by the
decision. In making any decision under 28.06, the CESC shall have no
power to alter, modify or amend any part of the Agreement nor to make
any decision inconsistent therewith.
28.07 (b) Where there is no m~jority decision with respect to any
recommendation under 28.04~or 28.05, each of the members of the
CESC may make separate recommendations.
28.07 (c)(i) Where there is no majority decision under 28.06, any
member of the CEST may refer the matter to the Employment Stability
Reserve Fund Arbitrator (ESRFA), as hereinafter provided.
(ii) There shall be an Employment Stability Reserve Fund
Arbitrator established at each College to be appointed by agreement of
the President of the College and the President of the Union Local. The
appointment, which may be renewable by mutual agreement, shall be for
one (1) year, commencing on September 1 and expiring on August 31
in each year. In the event that the President of the College and the
President of the Union Local are unable to agree upon the appointment
of an ESRFA, either the College or the Union Local may request the
College Relations Commission to appoint an ESRFA and the ESRFA
shall, upon appointment by the College Relations Commission, have the
same powers as if the appointment had been made by the College and
the Union Local as~provided herein.
(iii) The ESRFA may-make any decision-'-that the' CESC is
empowered to make under 28.06.
(iv) the ESRFA shall determine appropriate procedure and shall
issue a decision within ten (10) calendar days.of the referral of the matter
to the ESRFA.
The ESRFA shall hear the representations of the parties and shall
adopt the most expeditious and informal procedure possible.
(v) The decision of the ESRFA shall be final and binding on the
parties and any employee affected by the decision. The ESRFA shall
have no power to alter, modify or amend any part of the Agreement nor
to make any decision inconsistent therewith.
(vi) The College and the Union shall pay one-half of the fees
and expenses of the ESRFA.
28.08 (a) There shall be established at each College a Joint
Employment Stability Reserve Fund (JESRF).
28.08 (b) The College shall make an annual contribution to the
JESRF, to be made on or before September 1 in each year, in an amount
equal to $50.00 per full-time member of the bargaining unit at the
College, provided that where the amount of the JESRF is equal to or
exceeds an amount equal to $500.00 per full-time member of the
bargaining unit at the College, the obligation of the College to contribute
to the JESRF shall be suspended until the JESRF is again below that
amount. In such a case, the next annual contribution .required by the
College shall again be $50.00 per full-time member of the bargaining unit
at the College or the.amount required to restore the JESRF to $500.00
per full-time member, whichever is less.
28.08 (c) The JESRF shall be maintained at a bank or other financial
institution at which the College maintains one or more of its accounts,
and shall be maintained under the supervision of the chief financial officer
of the College. The books and records of the JESRF shall be open for
.. inspection by any member of the CESC at any time during regular
business hours.
28.08 (d) Any requisition for a cheque and/or withdrawal from an
account in which the JESRF is r~aintained shall be countersigned by one
member of the CESC appointed by the College and one member
: appointed by the Union Local.
28.08 (e) Surplus funds, if any, th,at are not immediately required for
the purposes of 28.06 may be invested on the instructors of the CESC
in any account or certificate of deposit maintained at or issued by a bank
or financial institution.
28.08 (f) While it is recognized that the specific financial obligation by
the College to the JESRF is the annual contribution to the JESRF
(subject, in addition, to any other specific obligations imposed by this
Agreement), it is understood that this is.not to act as a limitation on either
the College's or the ':Union Local's ability, to explore and. utilize other
means of enhancing employment stability, including contributing
additional funds to the JESRF.
The essence of the union's argument was that the understanding reached at the
May 13 meeting should be treated as a firm deal. According to the union, Article 28
expressly contemplates the use of professional development leave for this purpose so
that the understanding reached by the CESC was well within its mandate. Moreover,
the college's actions that followed immediately upon the signing of the memorandum
setting out this understanding had led the grievor to expect that her submission of a
proposal for professional development leave would be a mere formality. At no time,
moreover, did the college ever give the grievor a written response to this proposal as
12
required by the terms 'of Article 18 of the collective agreement. Given that the grievor
qualified for professional development leave under Article 18, the union argued that she
had every right to expect that it would be granted. In the alternative, however, the
union submitted that, even if ordinarily she would not be eligible for professional
development leave because of her lay-off, in this situation the employer was estopped
from raising this argument because it had encouraged her to pursue a professional
development leave rather than to grieve her lay-off.
The college, on the other hand, submitted that the scheme for professional
development leaves set out in Article 18 presupposed that an employee would have
a job to come back to once the leave had been completed. It argued that its evidence
indicated that there would be no teaching opportunities for the grievor in the
Manufacturing Engineering Technician Program and that it was highly unlikely that there
would be work for her in the WI'Fl' Program once she completed her proposed
professional development leave. For these reasons it argued that the college's
approval for the grievor's p¥oposed professional development leave had not been
unreasonably withheld. Furthermore, the college submitted that the understanding of
May 13 was only a recommendation so that neither the union nor the grievor could
reasonably expect that it was a firm deal. Moreover, since the grievor had not alleged
in her grievance any improper lay-off, the union could not raise the matter at this
juncture as the basis for its estoppel argument. Finally, the college argued that the
College had presented a reasonable counter-proposal that it would have honoured had
it received the agreement of the union. However, now that the grievor was no longer
participating in the Manufacturing Engineering Technician Program, she was no longer
eligible for any kind of remedy.
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Our starting point is an examination of the employment stability procedures set
out in Article 28 of the collective agreement. As we read these procedures it would
appear that the College Employment Stability Committee. (CESC) has both a
recommendatory function and a decision-making function. The recommendatory
function is exercised in respect of short-term and long-term strategies to enhance
employment stability. It should be noted at this point that Article 28 contemplates that
professional development is to be considered as one such strategy. In addition to this
recommendatory function, however, CESC does have a clear decision-making function
in respect to the expenditure of the Joint Employment Stability Reserve Fund (JESRF).
If one examines the understanding of May 13, 1991, it is evident that it is a
product of both this recommendatory and decision-making functions performed by
CESC. In our view, this mix of functions created a misunderstanding between the
union and the college. From the union's perspective, it is understandable why the
union thought it had a deal. It can be plausibly argued that the union's consent to use
the JESRF to support the"~grievor in her.second .year of studies was given in
consideration for the employer's promise to grant the grievor a professional
development leave in her first year, and that this exchange represented a completed
bargain.
Weighing against this conclusion, however, is the employer's position that, since
all five points of the understanding appeared as recommendations in the written
memorandum, the understanding was not a firm and final agreement. Indeed, as we
read this memorandum, which was authored by the union representatives on the
CESC, it does clearly indicate on its face that the understanding in its entirety is only
a recommendation that required incorporation in a local agreement. Given this wordin9
.... 14
of the written memorandum, it is our conclusion that the understanding of May 13 was
not a final and binding agreement. Therefore, the proposal to grant a professional
development leave to Linda St. Denis contained in that proposal is not binding on the
college.
The college, having decided not to follow through on this understanding, then
had an obligation under article 28 to remit St. Denis's situation back to the CESC to
work out an alternative arrangement. Instead of doing this, however,it put its alternative
proposal directly to the grievor before it was given the blessing of the union
representatives on the CESC, and in doing so failed to comply with the employment
stability procedures set out in Article 28 of the collective agreement. We do not regard
this breach of Article 28 as a deliberate attempt to circumvent the union since a copy
of the proposal was in fact sent to the union and subsequently discussed by the
parties. Moreover, we cannot conclude that this breach of the CESC procedures
confers upon the grievor any substantive entitlement to the terms of the earlier
understanding. '~
Can such an entitlement, howeyer, be based upon an estoppel? Examining the
dealings, between both the college and the union and the college and the grievor, we
are unable to conclude that the college at any relevant time made a firm representation
that could give rise to such an estoppel. The memorandum setting out the undertaking
of May 13 is by its clear words only a recommendation and, while the union may have
thought it had a deal, and the grievor may have hoped that there was a deal, there is
not sufficient evidence to suggest that the college did make a clear representation in
this respect. Indeed, if one looks at the grievor's testimony, she was not so much
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upset by the college's change of position as by the fact that it did not notify her of this
change.
At this point it is necessary to address the second issue of whether, apart from
the understanding of' May 13, the grievor had any entitlement to a professional
development leave. Given the reference to professional development leaves in Article
28, we are not prepared to conclude that the mere fact that the grievor was on lay-off
served to eliminate any entitlement to a professional development leave. The parties
obviously intended that professional development leave could be used in this situation
and, indeed, it is possible to contemplate that laid-off employees could use the
professional development leave to qualify themselves for some form of alternative
employment at the college.
If one examines Article 18, however, it is also clear that the entitlement to
professional development leave is conditional upon a return to active employment, and
not just a remote possibility of employment, once the leave is completed. Article 18.02
expressly mentions that the'Purpose of.such a.,leave .is to enhance the ability of a
teacher upon return to the college and, furthermore, it stipulates that if an employee
does not return for at least one year the employee is to repay any salary and benefits
received by the employee while on leave. This latter provision, in our view, clearly
contemplates that the college is to receive the benefit of at least a year's active service
from the employee once the leave is completed.
Turning to the facts of this case it is evident that this condition is not present.
Unfortunately for the grievor, the lack of government funding for the WI'FT' program
meant that a return to a teaching position in this program was a remote possibility at
best. Moreover, even if she had completed the Manufacturing Engineering Techniciar~
16
Program, she still would not be qualified to teach in that program. It is our conclusion~
therefore, that the college did not unreasonably withhold its approval of the grievor's
application for professional development leave in violation of Article 18 of the collective
agreement.
The process followed by the college in dealing with the grievor's application,
however, did fall short of what is required by Article 18. Article 18.01(g) requires that
applicants are to be notified in writing by the President as to the disposition of their
application and Article 18.01(i) further requires that an applicant denied professional
development leave is entitled to be notified in writing of the reasons for the denial. In
this case it is clear that the college did not meet either of these procedural
requirements.
Our analysis of the facts of this case has led us to conclude that the college
committed two procedural errors in the matter and that both of these procedural errors
were violations of the collective agreement. While these errors were not the sole cause
of the grievor's present '~redicament, they. did serve to contribute to the
misunderstandings that led to this situation. Unfortunately it is not possible to set back
the clock and undo what has already happened. Any remedy, therefore, should be
prospective in nature and directed at providing the grievor with some assistance in
coping with her present situation.
Under the procedures set out in Article 28 it is clear to us that the matter should
be remitted to the CESC to work out a new arrangement for the grievor. Earlier, the
employer was prepared to support the use of the JESRF for the benefit of the 9rievor
to a level of 55% of salary for a period of nine months and we direct the employer to
renew this committment. The ultimate decision as to the extent to which the JESRF wile
17
be used for this purpose, however, must be made by the CESC and we leave it.to that
body to make the final determination as to the disposition of these funds. We remain
seized of this matter to deal with any difficulties that might arise from the
implementation of this award.
Dated at Kingston this~-~"tLday of June, 1992.
. . Carter, Chair
J. Grimwood, Union Nominee
I concur/dL~sc~t "t~ · ~-\ ,.-['~,~-~- 'i"
R. Hubert, Employer Nominee