HomeMy WebLinkAboutGentleman 03-11-11 -1-
SUPPORT STAFF BARGAINING UNIT
EXPEDITED ARBITRATION AWARD
Employer Sheridan College
Grievor Viviane Gentleman
OPSEU # 324507
Arbitrator Louis M. Tenace
For the Employer Robin Whitelock, Lynn Morgan, Louis Berardi
For the Union Jay Jackson, Viviane Gentleman
Hearing Location and Date November 4, 2003
Subject Classification - Expedited
Nature of Grievance The grievor, classified as a Technologist B, Payband 10,
alleges that she is improperly classified and seeks
reclassification to Technologist C, Payband 11.
Result Granted
Decision Date November 11, 2003
-2-
AWARD
The grievor is currently reclassified as Technologist B, Payband 10, and she is seeking
reclassification to Technologist C, Payband 11, retroactively to the date of presentation of the
written grievance, i.e., February 28, 2003, in accordance with article 18.4.1.1 of the collective
agreement.
The parties agree that the current PDF dated January 15, 2003 is the appropriate document for
purposes of this arbitration. The only area of dispute relates to Factor # 11 of the PDF
(Responsibility for Decisions/Actions). The College rated this factor at Level 3, with 44 points;
the grievor alleges that it should be at Level 4, with 62 points. Should the grievance succeed, the
total point rating for this position would rise from 677 points to 695 points, which would result in
the position being classified as a Technologist C, Payband 11.
The following excerpt from Section VII, page 21, of the CAAT SUPPORT STAFF JOB
EVALUATION MANUAL (hereinafter referred to as the J.E.Manual) relating to Factor #
11 (Responsibility for Decisions and Actions) is reproduced below for ease of reference:
11. Responsibility for Decisions and Actions
This factor measures the impact on internal and public relations, the responsibility for
inJbrmation management equipment, assets and records, and the consequences of decisions
and/or actions.
Level Definition Points
3 Decisions and/or actions have moderate impact on the 44
organization. Errors are usually detected by verification and Clerk General C,D
review and may result in disruption of the workflow, dupli- General Maint.
cation of effort, and/or limited waste of resources. Worker
Secretary B, C
4 Decisions and/or actions have considerable impact on the 62
organization. Errors are detected after the fact and ma), ECE Worker
-3-
result in considerable interruption and delay in work Stationary Engi-
output and waste of resources, neet C
s$0 B, C
Technologist B, C
Section VI - Job Evaluation Guide Charts at pages 60-62 of the J.E. Manual, describes
the Evaluation Criteria for the Technologist A, B and C positions. The factors and criteria relating
to "Responsibility for Decisions and Actions" are set out below for each of these positions:
Evaluation Criteria Technologist A
Responsibility for decisions and Actions Decisions and/or actions have
moderate impact on the
organization. Errors are usually
detected by verification and review
and may result in disruption of the
workflow, duplication of effort,
and/or limited waste of resources.
Technologist B
Decision and/or actions have
considerable impact on the
organization. Errors are detected
after the fact and may result in
considerable interruption and delay
in work output and waste of
resources:
Technologist .C
Decisions and/or actions have
considerable impact on the
organization. Errors are detected
after the fact and may result in
considerable interruption and delay
in work output and waste of
resources.
Note to Raters: Evaluation criteria drawn from the factor level definition describing particular
classifications are general statements which may or may not have total applicability to a
-4-
particular position.
Briefly, the grievor works in a "help desk" or "call centre" environment, responding to technical,
computer inquiries/problems originating from students and staff. As stated in the PDF,
A Technical Support Analyst is one ora group of individuals responsible for providing
technical support in a multi-channel environment to a diverse clientele. The Technical
Support analysts have both broad knowledge of computer technology and specialized
knowledge in the specific systems they support at the College. They troubleshoot and
diagnose, resolve, provide instruction and advice for a wide range of
computer-related incidents. Their role is directly related to Information Technology's
strategic direction to provide high quality customer service in both traditional and
and electronic channels, particularly with the rapid growth of end user devices being
supported through the Delta 3 initiative and the online services being offered to students.
The grievor testified that, in her view, the function has a considerable impact on the activities of
the College in terms of how it operates as a business. The client base consists of support staff,
students and teachers with the majority of inquiries and requests for assistance coming from
support staff The moment someone contacts the help desk, k must be determined what,
specifically, is being asked. The person seeking assistance may be a novice and it might be
necessary to take over that person's computer. If the person is experienced, then he/she may be
given instructions on how to remedy the problem. If the problem can't be resolved here, then it is
passed on to the next level.
According to the grievor, errors are usually found after the fact. If the problems are not handled
properly, errors can have a significant impact on the College, particularly in those instances where
an error goes undetected for some months. She cited a recent example involving two people with
the same name one of whom wished to change her password. What was normally a very routine
matter became very complicated when one person ( a teacher) found that she could no longer
access her account when she needed to enter grades while the other person now had access to the
Student Information System.
Another example was provided by the grievor to illustrate how what, on the surface, appeared to
be a simple request to change an E-Mail address led her to ukimately delete the entire account.
Had her decision to do so been incorrect, it would have caused embarrassment to the College as
well as a waste of time and resources because the account would have had to have been
reinstated.
Other examples of various problems were offered to support the grievor's contention that errors
were not only detected after the fact but also that they could have a considerable impact on the
College's operations.
From the College's perceptive, errors are usually detected as part of an on-going monitoring
-5-
process. Failure to resolve an issue or an error would result in the issue being referred back to the
incumbent or a co-worker, resulting in a duplication of effort. While this could result in some
embarrassment to the organization, the impact is limited. It was acknowledged that the incumbent
must exercise tact, judgment and effective problem-solving skills. Suffice it to say the College is
of the view that in the grand scheme of things, the impact of errors at this level is not great. While
there is an impact, it is only moderate. Errors made by this group would not "make or break" the
College. They would not have a major or continuing impact on the organization. Moreover, in the
College's view, the grievor does not "fix" problems. Anything of consequence is sent on to the
next higher level. It is not the grievor's role to "get things back up and running".
I return to the PDF and cite the following statements from Section 11. Responsibility for
Deeision/A ction :
11.1 Describe the impact that the incumbent's decisions and/or action have on
internal and public relations, the responsibility for information management,
equipment, assets and records,
"The services provided by the Contact Centre contribute to the College's success
financially. ". .....
"The technical support function plays a major role in facilitating the productivity of
College employees and students. ". .....
11.2 Identify the processes used to detect errors and the effect on the organization if
errors are not discovered and corrected.
"It is critical that staff and students receive accurate information, which may affect their
productivity and ability to do their jobs. ". .....
"Serious miscommunication can require College resources to rectify the situation and/or
appease an individual. The FOI (Freedom of Information) Act protects student
information and, therefore, any breaches of confidentiality can have serious implications
for the incumbent and the College. ". .....
"Errors are typically detected when a client makes a complaint or an unusual peak in the
call volumes indicates that a serious problem or miscommunication is occurring. ". .....
"If technical errors are not handled promptly and appropriately, significant impact on
employees and classes occurs, up to and including the cancellation of classes, students
withdrawing and requesting refunds, employees unable to access critical information or
send/receive email."
-6-
CONCLUSION:
As stated previously, the sole difference between the parties in respect of the PDF relates to
Factor 11 (Responsibility for Decisions/Actions). Management rates it a Level 3, assigning it 44
points and the union alleges that it should be a Level 4, assigning it 62 points. The parties have
rated the other 11 factors identically.
In my view, the words used in Section 11 (Responsibilltyfor Decisions/~lctions) of the PDF,
when read as a whole, speak for themselves. The following excerpts will illustrate:
"The services provided by the Contact Centre contribute to the College's
success financially."
"The technical support function plays a major role in facilitating the productivity
College employees and students."
"It is critical that staff and students receive accurate information, which may
affect their productivity and ability to do their jobs."
"Serious miscommunication can require College resources to rectify the situation
and/or appease an individual."
"Errors are typically detected when a client makes a complaint."
"If technical errors are not handled promptly and appropriately, significant impact on
employees and classes occurs, up to and including the cancellation of classes,
students withdrawing and requesting refunds, employees unable to access
critical information or send/receive email."
I am satisfied that the words cited above clearly demonstrate that the incumbent's decisions
and/or actions have more than a moderate impact on the College's operations. When read as a
whole, and taking into account the presentations of the parties and the dictates of the J.E.Manual,
I am unable to conclude that the impact is less than considerable:
The College's rating for Factor 11 for this position is Level 3, 44 points, for a total of 677 points.
The Union's rating for Factor 11 for this position is Level 4, 62 points, for a total of 695 points.
It is my conclusion that the rating for Factor 11 for this position should be Level 4, 62 points, for
a total of 695 points. In accordance with Section IX - Payband Determination Schedule of the
J.E.Manual, 695 points would situate the position at Payband 11. It is my understanding that if
there is an alpha designate for a classification at the payband assigned, then it should be applied to
the position.
-7-
Consequently, the grievance is granted and the position is to be classified as a Technologist C,
Payband 11, retro-actively, in accordance with the provisions of article 18.4.1.1 of the collective
agreement.
Dated thisl lth day of November, 2003
Arbitration Data Sheet. Support Staff Classification
Present Classifica':ion: '~~
Job Family and P.~?yband Requested by Griever:
1. Concerning 'the A~ached Position Description Form:
~The par[ies agreed on the contents;
D The Uni::,n disagrees with the ~ntents and the sp~ific de~ils are a~ached.
2. The A~ache:i Wri~en Submission is from: ~ The Un~n ~he College
Level Points Level Points Level Points
2. Experience
4. Judgement..
6. Physical Demand
7. Sensow De?and
8. Strain Eom ',Vo~ Pressures/Demands/Deadlines
10. Communi~.'lions/Cont~ts
11.- Responsibil~:y for Dec~ions*ctions
12. Work Environment
For.the Union: -., F e :
., (C~ege Representative) . (D~e)
(G~evor) , ~ (Date)
(U:~; '~ (Date,
Resulting Classification:
[Date of ' g) (Dam of Award)
~- Ju~ 2002