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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-1151.Murphy.89-09-06 · '.....r.,. q.~t' ~" .' -, ONTAR~,O EMPLOYES DE LA COURONNE ~?-. · ..... : CROWN EMPLOYEES DE L'ONTARtO . : :.; :,,: .:i';;',~,',;:. ..,. BOARD DES GRIEFS 180 DUNDAS STREET WEST, TORONTO, ONTARIO. MSG 1Z8- SUITE2100 TE£EPHONE/T~-L~-PHONE 1~0, RUE DUNDAS OUEST, TORONTO, (ONTARIO) MSG 1Z8- BUREAU2100 I4'~6) 598-0688 1151/88 IN THE HATTER~ OF AN i~RBITRATION Under THE cROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT .... r BefOre GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD Between: · OPSEU (Murphy) ., ~rievor - and - The Crown.in Right:.0f Ontario (Minist'rY'6f Correctional Services) :... - - .... _. Employer Before: ' '-' ':.i: .... . - B.A. Kirkwood Vice-Chairperson / I. Thomson. Member, M. O'Toole . ~Member For the Griever: ~" L."T~achuk ,--~ , Counsel ' 'z , "~Cornish'~& Associates .,. ""' Barrister.s~.&~ Solici.to_rs For the Employer: M. Galway . ,-. .Employee Relations Officer Ministry of Correctional S'e,~vices Bearing: ._ May 10, 1989 Page DECISZON The grievor claimed that he was wrongfully denied an interview for the position of-Production Control Industrial Officer at the Marker Plant of the Millbrook Correctional Centre, ~ The relevant portion of the advertisement for the j.ob in the Opportunity Bulletin stated follows: "The successful· candidate wi'll supervise inmates ~emp!oyed in various phases 'of license plate production, will demonstrate work methods and procedures, will ensure proper use of ~quipment and assist in necessary repairs; will undertake assignments to assist in other industrial areas, a.s~,.required. , QUALIFICATIONS: - Demonstrat'ed pract~c'al knowledge' of skills, practices and quality control related to industrial production ope,rations at a level normally associated with significant industrial experience, ina machine shop, or punch press, - Demonstrated ability to effectively sup~r¥ise inmates in a maximum security setting, - Demonstrated ability to .instruct in work methods and .procedures. - Good knowledge of safety .procedures .... THIS COMPETITION IS RESTRICTED TO OtJ^[IFI[O. EMPLOYEES CURRENTLY WORKING AT MILLBROOK CORR£CIION^b:C£NIR~-..." The employer, received f~ou.r-~ a'pplications for the position. It reviewed the 'ap~'lications against the qualifications and selected two of the applicants for interviews. The employer interviewed only those applicants ~hose applications satisfied all four 'qualifications: The employer did~not give the grievor ~n int. ervi'ew, as the grievor's application did not indicate that' the grievor '" was able to show a demonstrated'Pr'aC'tical 'knOwl-edge of skills, practices and quality control related to industrial production operations at a level normally associated With significant industrial experience, in a machine shop, or punch ·press, which was the first criteria. The employer did acknowledge ·that the grievor's application satisfied the other qualifications set out in the advertisement,~and the employer did credit the grievor'for those· qualifications. The employer's counsel submitted that the selection~ and prescreening process was consiste.nt with the job posting in the Opportunity Bulletin The g~ievor's' application~ was fairly and accurat'e'!~ assesse~: against predet ermi'ned criteria, bdt the applicat'ion failed to show the' job related experience which was needed to qualify for the interview. It was the employer's po's~tion that' job r~lated experience-was .necessary for the job as instruction~ of ~nmates and general repairs..to the equipmen~t_ were importan~'~·functions of the job. " The union's counsel submitted that the employer had not establis, hed that .ind~ustrial experience, such as experience with presses was necessary for~ fhe job nor that~ the value attributed to the~ technical expertise should ou-f~eigh the value attributed to substantial experience as a correctional officer... She argued that the grievor was wrongfully screened 'from the interview process'; as he had e~t~nsive industrial experience, which ~was t~e 'foremost requi'rem'~nt for-~ the position. Th~ union~'s'- coun.sel submitted 'that" indu~f, rial' experience was not nece_ssary for this position,' a~-this j6b w~s similar to the secondment position f'or 'P~oduct4'on Control Industrial Officer 1, ~which did not requir~ industrial experience. Page ,The union's counsel claimed that the employer was unable to assess.the grievor's skills and abilities; as the grievor was automatically eliminated from the process for not-'having technical and industrial skills. The union claimed their screening process was contrary to article 4.3 of the collective agreement. - The union's counsel argued that, in any event, the grievor wa~s as qualified as the successful applicants, at least to the extent that he should be entitled to an interview. The issues are: 1) .whether the qualifications as 'set out in t'he Opportunity Bulletin are a reasonable ~efiection of the requirements for the job position~ , 2) is the employer required, to interview all the applicants for the position; 3) was the grievor's application assessed reasonably and .. fairly; and " \ 4) did the grievor's application i~dicate that he met the qualifications. . The Board has jUrsidiction to asses's the qualffications established by ~anagem~nt for ~obs subject ~{o job competitions (Q~S~U ~3. MacKe~zi~l ~d Ministry of ~.. Transportation and Communi~ati0ns, G.S.B. # 1243/87, (E.J. :~ Ratushny)). The test which the Board has applied in reviewing : the qualifications, is whether ~he qualifications are ~ reasonably related to the job in question. (O~SEU ~%orecki) aDH M4nistry of Natural ResQurces G.S.B, #256/82 (K. Page Swinton); Q~$Eu ~C~rmJck)' and Minist~y~.of '~olrectiorkal Services G.S.B. #~14~-/84'~(R.J. Rob~&rts)'.) ') : · Mr..Burg. om-ast~.ri ".tile' Senior Assistant Superintendent 'of Industries and Servi~ explained tha'~ the ProdUction Control _ Industrial Office~ i~ responsible 'for the-~supe~vision of the production of licence plates by inmates. Although supervision forms a large c.om. ponent~ of the job, the officer must be able to operate the~ ~ine, "which is'u~ed~o 'transf6rm.raw niat. erials . tO licen~c.e p.lates. The offic~"is required to teach inmates .... how to operate the l~ine~ which is c'omposed of numerous -:-. hydraulic press.~s{ and to supervise the press line~ to change-r .. and set Up.dyes to accommodate the ¢~ri'ous ~ypes.of licence piates required,. to watch f6r imp.erfe~ion~:in the..plates, to. ensure that the nurn~e'red plates are is'sued' sequentially, to' make daily maintenance ~checks on the ~achines,'~and.to ensur.e.. that the .prgcess and the. equipment are not sabotaged by the inmates, :" The Board finds*_th~ thi~ p~s'ition is d.iffefent from the secondment pos. it~on d~scri~d~a~:'-~~ Temporaf'y as'signmen't :t.o the Production ~ontrol Off~cer "' rial Officer 1).- , ( Indust ' ' During the six mon'~hs '~'~a't ;t~eZ"second~e spends'.at th~ plant, the secondee' is rota~'e~ through ~he,-~three:"areas of 0peratipns in' the plan'~ in o'~der ~ha~:'he ca~ ,learn about the~- operatiQn, .and h~ ,iS-~xPosed"~o"~om~ of 'the problems that the.. Operat.i,~n, faces. The seco~e~':~s'ist~.~he PrbduCtiOn Control. -. Offi~e~s · The S'econ~'e~'-re'mains: in 'this-position. .. Industrial for six months to,develop the" ~5~-~'f~'~.~k'ills 'whiCh are ne~ded' , as a Productio.~n Industria'l Cofitrol'~Offi~er. ~' .c ,. The qualifications r~quir~ ~or the positions of, the temporary position and the permanent ,position reflect the different responsibilities of the t~o pos'itions. There is only one difference between the qualifications required to Page 6 obtain the secondmen~ po~ition and to obtain the Production Control Industrial Officer position, but that diffe'rence is significant. For the secondee position, induStr£al background is an asset. The secondeel is in a training and learning program and-therefore the industrial baCkgou~d indicates that the applicant has a technical and mechanical. apt±rude. ~ .' On the other hand, a Production Control industrial Officer, has to have a demonstrated experience fn the industrial' setting. Although the Production Cbntrol Industrial Officer will learn the job on the job, he 'is not c~nsidered as being.in' training. He is secondee assists and relies upon. He .must have the knowledge to help the seconde~ learn the. job, He also'bea~s responsibility for the.inmates. " The Board has' reviewed the j6b specifications, ha~ '~heard the testimony of Mr. Burgomaster and the grievo'r and has reviewed the Opportunity. Bullgtin and finds that qualif~cations ~set~ out .in the Opport~y' Bulle~in ~re reasonably~ related. ~o the jgb advertised..: supervisory nature of the position forms a large t~e Job, technical knowledge, is required.to ~perate the machinery and to,~each the ihmates ..the' use of the maChinery,' to deal. with minor problems., a~d t.o. be, able. to prevent accidental or intentional damage from occurring to the equipment. The ~Pro~uc~ion Control. I~dustrial ~ff~ce'~ needs ~o know about the .plant, the machinerY,'~the~ ra~e of pr°duct~on' and the inmates. The more .he knows about the operations, the better he will be able to lead the se, condec, ahd '~tso not be compromised by the inmates. These specific f~nctions are set out in the-description of the job in the oppOrtunity Bulletin. Page 7 Therefore, the particular qual~fica~io'n in question, to '~ '" have .a demonstrated experience in an industrial'set'ting i~- releuant to this job. The natqre of a job cqmpetition is to select %he best applicant for the. job....The app.lic'an~ ' must fnclude in his application,~ all the qualifications h~ ha's, that he perceives are necessary fo~th~, job and .mee.t the q~lification~ in th~'. advertisement. If the applicant ~ails to do sO, he places his opportunity to be interviewed at jeopardy. (OPSEU. (Tully) and MinSstrv ~ S~i~l's Development G.S.B. #1622/$7 B.A.Kirkwood).~: . Article .4 3: of Th~ Co.!lecti~e ~g~eement'~tates: .- ~.. ~ ..~' : ~ "In fi~l%~:a vacancy, the ~ploy'e~':~h~[~ gi~·primar~ consideration tO qualif.i¢~tiogs' and ability to perform' '. the ;required duties. ~Whe~e.qualiffc~t~'iOn ~nd abiiity~ are relatively equal, length of contih~ou~ Service shall . ~' , . . -T~~ be a conside.ration". This article has not been con~t'~ued as:~pfo~ibiting - screening of applications. ~s the-process is a c~e{i~io'nl if it appears from the applications that some candidates are better quafif~e'd'..tha~ ot~ers'i"'the :effplbyer cab screen, out those who do not fulfill the~,requirem~s : '':~: been accepted.'ip:.~n~merb&s:'decis~0ns;.',which."include. QPS.EU . (Frank-Balic~) and34in~st~y-qf'~he'~'~0n~.nt'G.S:.B. -42/84 R.L. V~ri~),. (OPSFU ~J~eph T~i'I~): ~nd Ministry $~ Skills Dev~lQpmen~ '('supra)', OPSEU- (W~lter'~Qr~e~ki) .~d"Minlstry of Natura~ Resourc%s. G.S.B. 356/82, Re Clare Ministrv of Cos~u'm~r Relations G.$.B. 912/82 (G. Simmons) If, as in thi~ case, SOme of the~pplications indicated that some of. the 'a~plica~ts met all~he criteria set 'out in the job posting, only those who fill the requirements need be considered at this stage. That is the essence' of a Page 8 co~petition. To interview al, 1 the applicants when some applications indicate that ~here'are persons better qualified than others, is a Waste of time and money. Therefore, although there were only four applications for the job position, there was no· requiremen't for the Ministry to interview ostensibly meet the qualifications ~ set out in the job posting~ The grievor testified that he met the qualifications set out in the posting. The grievor ~laimed that his-prior work in demolition and salvage, and hi~ prior experienc~ with the repair of~ locomotives, gave him §ign~'ficant' indUst-rial experience which was compar, able to the expertise and experience requir~ed for {he qualifications lis~d~-in' the advertisement. related directly....to the 'pr6duc~i~n ~of material from raw material and the preparation of these:! materials for ~ale to the public. The application asked ~he applica~nt t~·re~ate his skills a~d work experien.ce, to the qualifications' for the position. The grievor r~es onded: "I am familiar with -operation Although I have, never adtually .Wo~ed there: supervised -a- ~- work crew be'fore' 'in .'. a 'quasi-' industrial/construction, setting.. I ~maintain record. .I am well aware of the safety aspect's "of the position and feel that of the' Marker Plant. I .have .driven. a ~fqrk lift trucks he'fore and I have had some experience 'in 'maintenance of ~rail~wa-y locomotives and feel that I ~can handl'~ th~ position ,that I am The Ministry did not construe· t~'is application as indicating that the, grievor, h, ad signific~ant indUstrial experience. Page 9 ~ At the hearing, we had 'tke opportunity to hear griever e!.a.borate on ~h. is.past exper'ience. His' Sole in the · demolition and salv.age process was to-ensuie the~ demolition-' of buildings was carried, out safely and to'preserve as m.any of th~ components of the building that is po's~ible, fort .. resale, purposes. The r~ature of this work is very different from the work on ~the ii-ne, and ~he technicalT'exp'e'rtise requi~red is very differe~ Th~ board find~ t~at this experience does not r~elate to the industrial envi-r°nm~ent of- · 'the plant· The.griever's expe'rience"a~sisting in the repai~r of !ocomo~ives also was not simila~ ~to the' operation of?..a' ' line'. The griever .alleged that h~~ was ~s skilied as ~he othe~r' '. applicant~,~...fo~_ the purposes, of obtaining an inter, view. · We had the.. opportunity' ~o ~review the~_o~her ~pptica't'ions and found that there, is no basi~ to disturb the e~lo~S analysis of~ their ap~p.lica..tions. The employer fOun~'that Humphries and Mr. Frape ~all ~the qualificationS. ~' Mr..Humphries,.had worked, in the 'Marker P~an~':.'in the secondment p.os}tion, for six'~and '~ half months'.' ' A-lth6ugh job not' neCe*~rily ~nee~~ 'tov b~~ 6brained- related exoerience.~does: _ . . throu_..g.h the secondment program, it was '~ta~li'shed provi.de...~.correctional o~ic~r-s~ with" ~perience ~'i'n--an industrial operatio,n and to pro~ide' th'em' 'an opP~t'unit'y for' advancement~and prgm0.t~0~ ., while at t~e~ same tim~' p~ovidilng the Ministry with a Po01 'of triined corre~tioA~'l '"' ' .... from. the ~institution. Theref?re, t~"Employer d'id~ n'O~':err in crediting Mr. Humphries wi~h job rel~aged experiehc~~. ' Mr. Frape!s application indicated that he had had approximately one and a half ~ear's experience with another employer operating a punch press, and setting up. and Page I0 operating progressive dies, even though it is not through the secondment program. ' This experience also meets the first qualification. The Board finds that the gr~evor's experience was not comparable to either of:the su6cessful applicants and that he was not as qualified a's either o~ them, as it appeared from their applications. The union's counsel introduced evidence that a Mr. Nelson who had been a successful applicant in another job competition for this position, had had experience in grinding, cutting and sh.aping his own tools',, light duty stampinq, cutting, and trimming on light' duty lathes,' together with filing and engraving materials as a: diamond ring engraver and designer. The Board finds that the grievpr's experience was again, not comparable although the equipment which Mr. Nelson used was small~r ~han 'the' equipment in ~he Marker Plant, the nature of the process was simila-r and therefore his appl.ication would have Satisfied the first qualification if he had enter'sd the competition. The use of hydraulic drills and fork lift truly{ · . are not comparable to industrial machinery, such as presses~ The board, therefore finds that the employer reviewed the. grievor's application fairly and did "n'ot err in concluding that the griev, or did not h~ve'si'gnifi'cant' industr'~al experience. Although the grievOr may have 'had a mechanical aptit~ and one which would s~atisfy the qualifications for" ~he' secondment position, this is not the 'qualification '~quired for this ~ob: . The qualification which!the employer' was looking for was a demonstrated ability t'$ wo'~k in an industrial setting as opposed to a mechanical, or technical ability, which .qualification we found was related t:6 the job a reasonable requirement. ' ' Page 11 ?here~fore, this grievance is dism£ssed. Dated at Toronto, this 6th day of September, 1989. B. Kirkwood, Vice chairperson I. Thomson~ Member M. O'Toolet Member