HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-0291.Anderson et al.90-02-28 ',. ,; ONTARIO EMP~.oYE$ DE LA COURONNF
CR 0 WN EMP~. 0 YEES DE L 'ON T4 R,~Q
GRIEVANCE C,OMMISSION DE
SETTLEMENT REGLEMENT
BOARD DES GRIEFS
TSO .DUNOA$ STREET WEST, SUITE 2100, TOPONTO, ONTAFtlO, MSG 1Z8 TELEPHONE/T~-££PHQNE: (476) 326- ~35~
150, FlUE DUNDAS OUEST, RUREA~J 2100, TORONTO (ONTARIO)..MSG 1Z~ FAC$IMILEIT~L'~COPiE : (4 16)'326- %396
291/89,292/89,293/89
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before.
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN .. OPSEU (Anderson et al)
Grlevor
- and.-
The Crown in Right of Ontario
(Ministry of Natural Resources)
Employer
BEFORE: N. Dissanayake Vice-Chairperson
rW. Rannachan Member
F. Collict Member
FOR THE D. Wright
GRIEVOR Counsel
Ryder, Whitaker, wright & Chapman
Barristers & Solicitors
FOR THE S. Gleave
EMPLOYER Counsel
Hicks, Morley, Hamilton, Stewart Storie
Barristers & Solicitors
HEARING May 5, 1992
291/89,292/89,293/89
BOARD ORDER
Attached is the Memorandum of Settlement which the Darties
agreed would be made an Order of the Board.
DATED at Toronto, this 29th. day of July, 1994.
N. Dissanayake, Vice-Chairperson
W. Rannaahan, Member
F. C~l~/~i~, Member " -
We the undersigned give authorization to the Law Firm of
Torkin and .Manes -and/or Mark Reynoids to request that the
Memorandum of. Agreement' for the grievance, between the Ontario
Public service Employees Union (Anderson et al) and The Crow~ in
Right of Ontario. (Ministry of Natural Resources), according to
Paragraph ~ of. the Agreement, be made an order of the Board.
'OPSUE No. 89~921-923
GSB No.291-293/89
Dated at Blind River., this ~5 day of ~ ,1994
Mr. CHarles Anderson
"/Witnsss
Howard Law
Ron Lessard
' BL ND RIVER o ,s u .o, mmse -
(]OB No.' 291-293180
IN TIlE MA-I'rER OF THE (~IIEVANCE
BETWEEN;
ONTARIO PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYEES UNION
(ANDERSON et al)
-and-
THE CROWN IN RIGHT OF ONTARIO
(Ministry of Natural Resources)
Employer
MEMORANDUM OF A(;iREEMENT
The ~ndersigne¢t re. pr$~~ Of t~m parUes agree to the settlement of the gritvom'
grie~anoes (GSB #291-29,3/8~) on me following ~mrms;
I. l'ha emptoyer, foik3vang1~s signing of the Memc~randum of Agreement by
i=artie~, will pay to the gri~ors We fallowing sum.~ of money less declu~ons required by
law'.
Mr, William Mlllmy:. ~,2~.B1
Mm'. Charlmm An¢l~:
Mr. D ennim Mcl.noct: $8,887.70
2
.~"h~ ~n;v~m wili t~ovids to ~e em~er ~=n st~eme~.~m ~e ~~
~p~mem and Immt~on Commi~l~n p~ing ~ of ~1 p~e~ m~ to
them un~r the U~em~em lns~r~ A~ during ~e p~o~ of ~-~ ~ing ~
3, . Upon the signing of. t~is Memoran~lum of Agreement by ali
grievance shall be deemeet to have t~een wi~~..
S. NO further legal proceedings, a~ions, claims or complai~-~;.~ under statute or
ottlerwise si'mil be tn~em~W ~ the grievom or by,1~e Union in any way arising out of the
drou~tances which Je~l te ~e present !~ievanoea or relating to l~e grievers' employment
~atua with l~e employer at any time in the past.
6. The 'pan ice agree th, at ~e Memoranclum at Agreement co~ the
complete eu..:l ~al agreement between mem,
ThL~ Memorandum (3f Agreement i~ matte witheut prejucti~,e o~ precedent
8, F..~ther pm,[y may.nave tt"tis Mem~ra"~cium of Agreement mac~e ~n Order of'-,he
Boar~.
Mr. Charles
Mr. O~nrfl~ M~.eo~l
MINISTRY OF P4~ TURA~ RE~OURCE~
CAL COlA r/ON: .... ~ '
~ed~ ot 5e~lce u~m~et o[ ..........
, ~:'~.~..'.
~ ~ ?' .: :~.::. ,
l l' ill ,' ~_.i
~.';~r . .~ .. ~' ·
,..'. ," 'J .:..~ . ONTARIO EM,°LO¥~$OELA COURONNE
· ' ~.. .~'.. " ".-: C~OWNEMPt..OYEES DEL'ONTARIO
~'~ '~" '" ' GRIEVANCE C,OMMISSION DE
S~FFLEMENT REGLEMENT
BOARD DES GRIEFS
180 DUNDAS, STREET WE,~T, ,TORONTO, ONTARIO. MSG 1ZS-SUITE 2100 TELEPHONE/T~L.~PHONE
180. RUE DUNDAS OUEST, TORONTO, (ONTARIO) M5O IZ8 - BUREAU 2100 (416) 598,0688
314/89
IN THE MATTER OF AR ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE B~RGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN=
OPSEU (Branch)
Grievor
- and -
The Crown in Right of Ontario (Ministry of Transportation)
Employer
BEFORE: M.R. Gorsky Vice-Chairperson
M. Vorster Member
H.-Roberts Member
FOR THE P. Chapman
GRIEVOR: Counsel
Ryder, Whitaker, Wright and Chapman
Barristers & Solicitors
FOR THE S. Currie
EMPLOYER: Staff Relations Officer
Management Board of Cabinet
P. Codner *'
Staff Relations Advisor
Ministry of Transportation
HEARINGS:. September 13, 1989
November 27, 1989
· . DECiSiON
The grievor, Ian Branch, filed a grievance on April 12, 1989, as
follows:
" That I was unsuccessful in competition no. 9-89-06 for
position of Patrol Operator-AB at Calabogie Pa%rol,
and requested that he:
"...be awarded the position or that the competition be re-
run. ~
It was acknowledged that the grievor, at the time ~cf the posting
of the position referred, to in the grievance, had k~en appointed.
as a seasonal employee as defined in Art. 3.17 of the collective
agreement ~
The job in questipn was posted pursuant to Art. 4 of ~he collective
agreement. The position of the employer was that tke grievor, as
a seasonal and unclassified employee; could not rely on the
provisions contained in Article 4, which deals witk "Posting and
Filling of Vacancies Or'New Positions".
Counsel for the employer referred to certain sections of The Public
Services Act and Regulation 881 thereunder:
"1. (a) "civil servant" means a person appointed to the
service of the Crown by the Lieutenan= Governor in
Council on the certificate of the Commission or by the
Commission, and "civil. service" has a corresponding
meaning;"
(b) "classified service" means the part of the
public service to which civil servants are appointed;
(g) "public 'servsnt" means a person appointed under
this Act to the service of the Crown by the Lieutenant
Governor in Oouncil, by the Commission or by a
minister, and "public service" h~s a corresponding
meaning;
(i) "unclassified service" means the part of the
public service that is composed of positions to which
persons are appointed by & minister under =his Act.
6.-(1) When a vacano7 exists in ~he classified service~
the deputy minister of the ministry in which the
vacancy exists shall nominate in writing from the list
of eligibles of the Commission a person tO fill the
vacancy.
(2) The Gommission. shall appoint a person nominated
under subsection (1) to a position on the probationary
staff of the classified service for not more than one
year' at a' tim~.
7. The Gomm~ssion shall, if requested in writin~ by
the deputy mimiste=~ recommend to the Lieutenamt
Governor in Council the appointment of a person on the
probatiouary staff of the classified service to the
'regular- staff of the classified service., and the ·
=eoomme~datioD shall be. accompanied by the certificate
of ~ualific~tion ~d assignment of the Commission.
8.-(~) A minister or any public servant who is
designated i~ writin~ for the purpose by him may
appoint rom a period of not more than One yeam on the
first appointmen~ and for any period on any subsequent
appoi~td~ent a person to a position in the unclassified
service in anF M~nistry over which he presides.
(~) Any appointment made by a designee under
subsection (I) shall be deemed to have been made by his
miflistem.
~. A person who is appointed to a position in the
"public service fora a specified period ceases to be a
public servant at the expiration of ~hat period./*
The important sections of Re~u~a~ion 881 a~e as follows:
"UNCLASSIFIED SERVICE
6.~(I) The unclassified service consists of employees
who are employed under individual contracts in which
the terms of employment are set out ~nd is divided
into,
Ia) Group 1, consis~in~ of employees who ~e employed,.
(i) on a project of a non-recurring ki~d,
(ii) in a professional or other special
capaci
(iii) on a temporary work a$signment arranged
by the co~issio~ in accordance with i~s
pmo~ram for providin~ ~empomarZ help,
(iv) for'fewer tha~ fourteen hours per week
or f~wer th~n nine full daZs in four
consecutive weeks om ca an irregular or
=~Ii basis,
(V) du~in~ thei= me~ular suhool, college
univ6~ity vacation period or under a
opema~ve edu~a~ionai ~rainin~ proart;
(b) Group 2, consistin~ of employees who nme employed
on a pmoJect-Of a mecurri~ kind,
(i) fo= lewes th~ twelve consecutiYe months
and for lewes th~,.
[A) ~B-I/4 bourns pe~ week wheme
~s~tioa, if filled bz a civil servant,
would be ~l~sified as a position
~uiriu~ $6-I/4 hours of work per week,
(B) 40 hours pe~ week where the
~sitio~ if fill.ed by a civil
would be ol~sified as a position
requirin~ 40 hours of work per week,
(ii) fo~'fewe~ than eight consecutive "weeks
per ~ear where the ~ontr~c~ of t~e
~movides ~hat ~e emplozee is ~o work either
36-1/4 hours per week om 40 houms ~ week;
(~) G~oup 3 consistin~ of employees ap~i~ted
seconal basis for a period of at least eight
consecutive weeks but less than twelve consecu:ive
moaths to an annuallF mecur~ing position where the
con~ract provides the: the employee is ~o work either
36-1/4 hours, per week Or 40 houps per ~'eek,
Section 6 of the Act deals ~ith appointments to the classified
service. A vacancy must exist in the classified service for the
posting' provisions of Article 4 of the collective agreement to
apply. When the successful candidate is named after a competition
is carried out pursuant to Article 4, the deputy minister is
required to nominate the successful candidate pursuant to section
6 of the Act. Section 6(2).of the Act then req~/ires the Co~mission
to appoint the successful candidate as a probationary employee in
the classified service.
Section 7 of the Ac~ provides tkat after completion of the
probationary period, the Comnission, when requested, recommends
appointment of a-probationary member of the classified service to
the' regular staff of the classified Service.
Section 8 of the Act 4eals with appointments to the unclassified
service. Section 8 makes no mention of the need for there, to be
a vacancy in order for there to be an appointment to the
unclassified service,' and appointments to the unclassified service
are for fixed time periods.
Counsel.for the em9loyer argued that Arts. 3.15 and 3.35 of the
collective agreement dealt.with "Other Applicable Articles" which
apply to seasonal employees, such as the grievor, and noted that
Art. 4 is not mentioned as being applicable to seasonal employees
in the unclassified serVice.
Counsel for the employer referred to Sec. 18(1)(a) of the gro~n
Employees Coliect%ve Bargaining Act, R.S.o.L, 1980, cap. 108 as
amended ("CECBA"):
"18(1) Every collective agreement shall be deemed to provide
that it is the exclusive function of the employer to manage,
which function, without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, includes the right to determine,
(a) employment, appointment, complement, organization,
assignment, discipline, dismissal,suspensicn, work
methods and procedures, kinds and locations of equipment
and classification of position."
in support of his position' that this Board lacked jurisdiction to
directly or indirectly appoint the grievor to the classified
service.
Counsel for the employer referred to Exhibit 2 which is a series
of the grievo~'s temporary appointments commencing in December,
1986. These appointments are as follows:
(a) From December 13, 1986 to March 6, 1987, as a Snow Plow Helper
in the Eastern Region, District 9, Ottawa, Assigned to Patrol
23, Calabogie
(b) From March 7, 1987 to March 13, 1987, same class title, same
region, same headquarters.
From June 22, 1987 to October 22~ 1987, as a Heavy Equipment
Operator l, same region, district and headquarters.
(d) From October 23, 1987 to December ll, 1987, same class title,
region, district and headquarters as in (c).
(e) From December 12, 1987 to March ll, 1988 as a Heavy Eql~ipment
Operator 2, same region, district and headquarters.
(f) From April 5, 1988 to April 29, 1988 as a Heavy Equipment
Operator 1, same region, district and headquarters. '
(g) From May 30, ..1988 to June 30, 1988 as a Heavy Equipment
Operator 1, same region, district and headquarters.
(h) From October 11, 1988 to October 25, 1988 as a Heavy Equipment
Operator. 2, same region, district and headquarters.
(i) From october 31, 1988 to March 31, 1989, as in (h).
All of the above appointments were for 40 hour work weeks.
The definition of "seasonal employee" is found in Art:. 3.17 of ~he
collective agreement.
"A seasonal employee is an employee appointed for a period of
at least eight (8) consecutive weeks to an annually recurring
full-time position in the unclassified service in a ministry.
For purposes of this definition full-~ime means a minimum of
thirty-six and one-quarter (36-1/4) or forty (40) hours ~er
week,.as applicable."
The definition of "probationary period for a seasonal employee" is
found in Art. 3.18 of the collective agreement.
"The probationary period for a seasonal employee shall be two
(2) full periods of seasonal employment of at least eight (8)
consecutive weeks each, worked in consecutive years in ~he
same position in the same ministry."
Counsel for the employer submitted that the grievor was an employee
appointed for a period covered by Art. 3.17:
1. December 13, 1986 to March 13, 1987
2. December 12, 1987 to March i!, 1988
3. October 31, 1988 to March 31, 1989.
These,appointments were said to be to the position title: snow
Plow Operator AB, calabogie, and reference was made to the position
specification (Exhibit 3) where the purpose, duties,)related tasks
and skills and knowledge with respect to the position are.set out.
The position as a snow plow operator was said to be annually
recurring and for the number of weekly hours as to come within the
definition, found in Art. 3.17. The grievor was also said to have
completed the probationary period provided for in Art. 3.18.
Counsel for the employer relied on Wagner, 351/89 and 352/89
(Slone), where the grievor was a member of the unclassified
service, on a series of fixed-term contracts. The grievor,
there,filed two grievances, the second of which stated that the
employer had failed, "to properly consider her qualifications,
ability and years of experience in connection with her application
for a permanent position .... " (Waqner, at p.2) Counsel for the
grievor in the Wagne~ case "conceded that 'the second grievance
[could] only proceed if the grievor [was] found to have a status
that is superior to that of an unclassified employee~ since such
an employee would not normally be entitled to take advantage of the
provisions of the collective agreement dealing with postings',
namely Article 4 (full-time), or Article 60 (part-time)~ (Waqner
at p.2).
Counsel for the employer referred to Blake 1276/87, in which the
Chairperson of the Board held that One panel of the Board should
follow the decision of another panel except in exceptional
circumstances, it was left to panels of the Board to flesh out the
circumstances when the Blake rule would not apply. One of the
exceptional circ~unstances was identified in Tsiotsikas 907/88,
being where there was conflict between two decisions of the'Board.
The Tsiotsikas case was referred to with approval in the Bres~ette
1682/87 (Wilson) at p. 21. We were not presented with a situation
as was referred to in Tsiotsikas.
From the position taken by counsel for the union, it was apparent
that she was not urging Upon us the proposition that the grievor,
if properly appointed to the unclassified' service, had the right
to grieve an alleged violation of Articl~ 4.
The position of the union was that: '
(1) The grievor had been improperly appointed to the unclassified
service, and that we should so find. Counsel for the union
acknowledged that evidence would have to be tendered 'to
establish this position.
(2) The Board could fashion a remedy for the grievor even if he
was not a member of the classified service at the time of the
posting, provided it could be established that he had been
improperly appointed to the unclassified service.
Counsel for the union asked that we first rule on the arFament with
respect to (2), above, and hear full argument with respect, to (1),
above, only after we had issued an interim award with respect to
(2).
As noted above,, the position of the employer was that a finding
that the grievor had been properly appointed to the unclassified
service would require an immediate holding that the grievance was
not arbitrable. We note that'counsel for the union did not argue
that an employee properly appointed to the unclassified service had
the right to grieve an alleged violation of Article 4.
In response to' the argument presented by counsel for the employer:
that an unclassified public servant had no rights under Article 4
of the collective agreement, counsel for the union argued that if
the grievor Was improperly appointed as part of the unclassified
service, there was a remedy available to him Which did not amount
to the direct enforcement of Article 4 rights. It was submitted
that the position advocated on behalf of the employer represented
an incorrect interpretation of WaGner.
It is evident that counsel for the union recognized the immediate
difficulty which she faced in pursuing an argument based on an
allegation that the grievor was .improperly appointed to' the
unclassified service. She referred to the statements, found at
pages 14 - 15 of the Wagner case:
"The jurisprudence makes it quite clear 'that our finding of
an improper appointment does not necessarily imply any tangible
success for the Grievor. ' Beresford stopped dead at this point of
the analysis, and sent the case back to the parties ostensibly to
attempt to. settle the question of remedy but in reality t0 send
it on an excursion through the Divisional. Court and the Court of
Appeal. 'Both courts declined to interfere with what the BOard
had decided. Now, the remedy question must be faced. Referring
back to the award in Beresford, this is what the Board said at
pp. I6-1?:
"As the par~es recognized at the hearing, however, that finding
[of an improper appointment] does not necessarily provide an
answer for the grievor on the question of reined?. To begin w~th,
as the Union acknowledges, had the position been properly treated
~s one in the "classified" service, as ~he Union has contended, the
position would l~ave had to have been posted. And there have, as
· noted in the evidence, been further developments with-the
position since the grievor's tenure there endech In a3/ of the
circums~ce% therefore, it was agreed By the l~arties that the
question of remedF be left at this stage to be a~dressed bY the
parties, with the Board remaining seized in the event that the
mater cannot be resolved between thenu
The Board s~nply f~mds and declares, therefore, that the
purported limited-term appointment of the grievor to the
'unclassified# se~ was, on the basis of the evidence and the
partic-i-~ facts before us, improper and unauthe.-~zed by the
provisions of the PuBlic Service Act and the regulations
thereunder."
No case to our knowledge has gone any further than this. In
the subsequent case of MilleF 1972/87, which was also Challenged
in the courts alongside Beresford, Vice-Chairperson Mitchnick
commented on his award in Beresfcrd in the fo[lowing terms, at'
page 7 of the award:'
"Once again, wha[ the Board had before it in Beresford was a.
"dismissal" grievance, but the Board /ook the view that, a.~ the
"clarence" of the employer was that the grievor's employment had
simply come to an 'end a~ a result of a predete~min~ timi~on on
its ~rm, the B~rd w~ prepaid ~ addre~ the Union'~ argument
, ~ W whether ~at p~de~rmined limi~tion had b~n ~wfully
im~sed. In agreeing ~ direr its mind ~ ~at question~ however,
the Board expressly ~utioned (at the botts of ~e 13) ~ it
was doing so "~o~ wha~ver ik may ultima~ly mean ~ the grievot
~ terms of re~ef". -Wha~ it did in fact me~, a~ ~e government ,
in its submissions before u~ no~s in the p~sent ~e, was not,
and h~ not been decided in Be~esford. Aa ~e ~: page of the
decision se~ out, the Union i~elf foresaw p~blema ~th the form
of remedy t~t would be apg~pr~, o~ng ~ p~~r ~ the
f~t that ap~tmen~ ~ the "clasa~ied set.ce" ~ only be
made t~ough ~e valle of a ~atin~ (a~ ~cle 4 of the
coll~tive agr~ment). But in answer ~ ano~er query put ~ us
by the government in ~' present ~e, ff ~e ulti~ result of
an ~p~per apartment ~ the ~c~sified set.ce we~ found ~ .
be t~t ~e en~u~g ~d of employment must tke~fore be
trea~d ~ emplo~ent ~ the' "c~sMied ser~ae" (~d ag~m, no
~e, ~clu~ng ~e p~sent, ~ ~hed the ~ of d~id~g
that yet), .such emp~ent would be subj~t ~ the ~r~ ~rms
~d ~ndi~ons at~g ~ employment ~ ~e "c~i~d sauce",
includ~g, in par~c~, ~e ~ng of a p~batio~ ~od."'
The same cautionary note was sounded in Bressette, at p.22:
"Hawing found ~_b-~ the grievors' were not properly appointed to
the unclassified service, this Board now turns to the question of
whether the grievors are ent/tled to rely on sect/on 4.1 of the
collective agreelnent~ In Beresfo~d by agreement of the .part/es, -
once the Board had determined that the grievor was improperly
appointed to the unclassified service the Board rem/fred the
matter to the parties to attempt to fashion a remedy while the
Board ~emained seised in the event the matter could not be
re~olved between them. To th/_~ date, presumably because of
several applicat/ons for judicis/ review, that issue rems/ns
out. tending."
The award in Bres_sette merely sent the i~sue back to the
parties, without deciding what if any ~emedy this Board could or,
should award. Therefore, we ave left to decide %his aspect Of'
the grievance on first principles."
In fashioning its remedy, the Board in the wagner case~ (at page
23), did not do .so by granting classified status to the grievor,
although it did declare that the job the grievor performed ought
to have been filled by a posting and an appointment to the
classified serVice. Counsel for the union requested that we first
decide the issue of whether the grievor, if he is entitled to a
declaration that he was improperly appointed to the unclassified
service , was entitle'd to a remedy consistent with that awarded in
Wagner. As noted, she only pursued the question of the
appropriateness of the remedy on the assumption that she is later
able to establish the grievor's entitlement to a declaration that
he was not properly appointed to the unclassified serVice.
The.reason for the way in which counsel for the union choSe to
pursue her submissions appears to follow from the present s~ate of
the Board's jurisprudence. In Beresford 1429/86 (Mitchnick), after
hoiding (at page 16) "that the purported appointment of the grievo~
to the 'unclassified' as opposed to the 'classified' serVice was
improper", the Board went on, at pages 16 to 17, to observe:
"As the parties recognized at the hearing, however, that
finding doesnot necessarily provide an answer forthe grievor
on the question of remedy. To begin with, as the Union
acknowledges, had the position been 'properly treated as one
in the "classified" service, as the Union has contended, the
position would have had to have been posted. And there have,
as noted in the evidence, been further developments with the
position since the grievor's tenure there ended. In all of
the circumstances, therefore, it was.agreed by the parties
that the question of remedy be left at this stage to be
addressed by the parties, with the Board remaining seized in
the event that the matter cannot be resolved between them.
The Board simply finds and declares, therefore, that the
purported .limited-term appointment of the grievor to the
"unclassified" service was, on the basis of the evidence and
the particular facts before us, improper and unauthorized by
the provisions of the Public Service Act, and the regulations
thereunder."
This difficulty in going beyond such a declaration was discussed
in Bressette 1682/87 (Wilson). There, the grievances were similar
to the one before us. At the time of the grievances in Bresset~e,
"... the grievors...were employed in the unclassifie~ public
service pursuant to contracts .... The grievors applie~ in the
posting [for 23 vacancies in the classified service for attendants~
at the Oakridge Unit of the Mental Health Centre at
Penetanguishene] and were Unsuc:essful." .(Bressette at p.1) As
in the case before us, the employer in Bressette contended, "that
since [the grievors] were unclassified staff, they could not rely
on Article 4.1 (job posting) of ~he collective agreement.)(at
The Board, at page 22, followed Beresford as being "manifestly
correct." (emphasis in the original). In turning to the question
of remedy, after having found that the grievors had been improperly
appointed to the unclassified s~rvice, the Board stated, further
at page 22:
"This Board now turns to tke question of whether the grievors
are entitled to rely on section 4.1 of the collective
agreement. In Beresford by agreement of the parties, once the
Board had determined that%he grievor was improperly appointed
to the unclassified service the Board remitted.the matter to
the parties to attempt to fashion a remedy while the Board
remained seized in the event the matter could not be resolved
between them. To this date,presumably because of several
applications for judicia~ review, that issue still remains
outstanding. In my view, ~he Beresford approach is the proper
one at this stage. The issue 'are complex and novel: the
parties are the people wk~ will be affected by the result.
They should try to fashion their ow~. solution before this
Board intervenes. Accordingly, the master is remitted to the
parties to-fashion an appropriate solution, failing which this
Board remains seized of the grievances."
At this time,~counsel for the union wished to address the Board's
jurisdiction to fashion a different remedy than is found in
Bressette, based on the award in Wagner, on the ass{Unption that we
will find, on the evidence, that the grievor was improperly
appointed to the unclassified service, as vas the case in Wagner.
in Wagner, there was no competition, but tke second grievance (at'
page 2) complained "that the employer failed properly to consider
[the grievor's] qualifications, ability and years of experience in
c~nnection with the application for a per~anent position." This
grievance was not proceeded with at the hearing which led.to the
award.
In Wagner, 'the Board concluded (at page 12), that the job in
question ought not to have been filled by an appointment to the
unclassified service and (at page 13): "... following the
reasoning in-~eresford..." concluded "'that the job in which the
grievor was employed was a job that ought to have been filled by
an appointment under sections 6 and 7 of the Pub%ic Service Act.'"
Further, at page 13, the Board stated that:
"At some point in time, it came under an obligation to post
the position under the provisions cf either Article 4 or
Article 60 of the Collective Agreement. Having failed to do
so, then, we are in the position of assessing the cOnsequ'ences
that flow from that failure, and what if any benefits accrue
to the Grievor."
In'the Waaner case, the Board, in dealing with the subject of the
appropriate r~medy, was'only concerned with the first grievance
before it, being the grievor's "dismissal'' (see Wag~er at page 2).
We are not faced with such a grievance. Neuer%hele~s, counsel for
the union argued that the principles applied by the Board in
fashi°ning a remedy are relevant in a case such as this. As
already noted, the Board did not deal with the second grievance.
What the Board was dealing with was, in effect,'a request to order
that the grievor be granted classified status.
Counsel for the union did not argue that there wa~ no difference
between the grievance which was adjudicated in WagNer and the one
before us. Rather, she submitted that the rationale for the relief
afforded in Wagner. was capable of being applied in the case before
us. Because the strands of reasoning in Wagner (pages 16 - 23) on
the subject are so intertwined, it is necessary to quote it in its
,entirety:
'LThere are two basi.c principles which we recognize as
important to observe in this case. Those principles are:
I. The jurisdiction to apply' a remedy should be directed to
compensating a grievor for his ac%ual loss or detriment suffered
as a result of unlawful managemen: acti:n. While that loss may
be difficult to quantify, the Board has broad powers and must
fashion the best remedy it can find. However, it is not
appropriate in dispensing remedies to cznfer a windfall on a
grievor, by compensating someone who has not suffered any actual
loss or detriment.
2. In fashioning a remedy, this ~oard should not. order one
side or the other to b~eac~ the Collec:ive Agreement or
contrar~ to a statute or regulation. This may be viewed as a
variation on the theme that two wrongs do not make a right.
Dealing with the firs~ point fir$~, we must remember that
the ~ievo~'s oomplaint essentiall~ arises out of a contract,
whether out of her individual limited-term contracts or out of
the Collective Agreement. ~bsent some contract, the Employer
owes Her no ~utie~. In a sense, all grievances are complaints
that the Employer has breached the c'ontract, either in relation
to' some express term or to some implie~ obligation that has
become recognized in the iabour relations context. In fashioning
a remedy, boards of arbitration are a%temptinq-to give the
grievor thc full benefit of his bargain, or to "m,kc him whole".
Another way of e~pr~ssing it is to put the grievo~ into the
position he would have been in had the Employer 'ac~ed lawfully.
But if a gr~evor has not suffered as a result of a breach by the
Employer, there is no need to award compensation. Where the
grievor only establishes that he might be harmed in the future,
it may be appropriate to order the Employer to cease the
offending conduct and put matters ~ight. in some fashion. That is
the intent of a declaration, which assumes that wh&t is deoia~ed
will henceforth be done. But a grievor is not entitled merely to '
point out a breach of the Collective Agreement by the Employer
and then seek to reap some reward.. There must on the balance of
probabilities have been a det=iment to the ~rievor suffered as a
di=ect consequence of the breach. It i~ that detriment that this
Boa=d will be willing to remedF,
It is p=eoisely the lack of an~ obvious detriment that
st=ikes us in this c&se, and ~ay well characterize most if not-
all of these types of griev&nces. It is difficult to see how the
Orievom has lost anything as a result of management's unlawful
action. If anything, she may have benefitted by it.
Cgnsider the possibilities: had the Employer decided to
post the ~ob at the outset, such posting might have been internal
only and the Grievor would have had no right to apply. Had the
posting permitted outside applications, the Grievor might have
faced competiuion ,from inside candida%es ~ho by virtue of their
seniority wo~n~d have had ~ si~ni£ic~n' advanta%:e in the
co~pet, iti-cn. It i~ noteworthy that th,~ jo[) in question
classified at the OAG 11 level, which means that it is fairly
senior and might well have been an attractive proposition for
in%=rnml candidates. Assuming that the Employer had' decided to
pos~ the position onl~ after one or more of the Grievor's
contracts had expired, there is still no assurance that she would
have been the successful candidate. She would not have had any
seniority to help her, since her time under contract would not
haYe been considered "length of continuous servi~e'''~ within the
meaning of Article 25 of the Collective Agreement. As we
thaz Article, only if she had succeeded in obtaining the job
would she have-been permitte4 to tack on her time under'con%tact
to her seniority.' Ail that she has arguably lost, therefore, i's
a ~ossible opportunity which on the facts of this case is of a
highly s~eculative value. Probably,'the Grievor would be no
be~ter off had the Employer treated the position ~s it ought to
have,.namely as a part-time classified position. Havin~ had the
benefit of the contract for some two years, the Grievor ma?
indeed be a beneficiary of the Employer's failure to satisfy the
requirements of the Public Service Act, the Regulation and the
.Cc!lective Agreement.
It is interesting also to analyze the situation from ~
purely iefal point of view. The essential complaint of the
Grievor is that the Employer did not have the legal authority tO'
enter into the contract with her. In such a case, the contract
may be refarded as an "illegal contPact" Fundamental princ~ple~
cf contract law hold that where a cont.ract is illegal, where bot~'.
i, ttrtics arc equally to blame for the illeg~t[tty ( in tht~
that they both had equ~l knowledge of the illegality ~tnd cot, trol
over it), then as a rule neither par'ty will be entitled to it%yoke
the aid of a court (or a board of arbitration) if that party
bec:mes dissatisfied with the course of events transpiming
thereunder. The rationale is that no one should be able to take
advent&ge of his own wrongdoing. In the situation as here where
the~e is a disparity in bar~ainin~ power and the stronger party
(the Employer) is solely responsible for the illegality, then the
innocent party has an option: he may either ask that the
contract be enforced, or that it be rescinded: see Sidmay Ltd.
et al. v. Wehttam Investments Ltd. (1967) 61 D.L.R, (~d) 358
(On~. C. A.), in particular at p.$$5-6. What that case and
otkers have held is that the innocent party cannot seek to
enforce only that part of the c~ntract that he likes, while
asking tha~ o~he~ parts of i~ be ignored o~ thrown out. That is
in effect what the Grievor is asking us to do.. She wishes to
keep in force that part of the contract ~hat gives her the status
of an employee, but wishes to have ignomed those par~s of the
contract that impose an inferior Status and a time limitation.
('In fact, she even'goes one step furthe~ and asks us' to rewrite
the contract to transform it into something quite unlike what it
is on its face.)
Enfo=cin~ the contract mea~s enfo~cin~ it i~ all respects.
Rescind~n~ the contract.means attempting to put both parties back
inUo thei~ respe=tive positions before the contract was entered
into. Neither option could result in the Orievo~ obtainin~ thc
she seeks in this' ~-iev~t~cc, n~m.--'l_v to bo ~. classified
employee.
If we approach the exercise here as enforcement, no greater
status can be founded on the contract that she entered into. The
3urisprudenCe of this Board which was recited in Beresfo~d and
which is still applicable, established the p~inciple ~hat status
derives fTom the me%hod of appointment and no~ from the nature of
the 3ob.. In Simpscn GSB 694/85, at p.i~, the ~oard stated:
"The Pubic Ser~.¢e Ac~ crea~es the dis:tnc~ion between the
classified and unclassified set,doe, and it c~ea~s ~hat distinction
not on ~he b~is of the par~cular jobs ~ be performed but r~ther
on the b~im upon which 'the employment s~tus of a particular
employee is crea:ed."
However, if-we approach our task as an exercise in.
rescission, then no status at all is achieved and the only issue
is how to put the Grievor precisel~ or approxima%el~ back into
the position she ~ould have been in h~d the illegal contract .-
never been entered into.
This brings into play the second fundamental principle which
we alluded to earlier, tha~ we' should not order a party to b~each
the Collective Agreement,~ a statute or a regulation. This Board
by itself has no 3urisdiction to confer status. That is an
exclusive nanaEe~en% function, We can onl~ order the Employer to
make an appointment, e~{her retros~e.ctiv__ely or prospectively,
which would nonfer some status. Bu~ if we were to order the
EmDloyer to appoint t~:e Gvievo~ to a classified position, we
wou'd i~ effect bo ordering l~ to ~..akc thc app,,'~ntm(;,~t without
posting or competition, in defiance of Article 60, the relevant
portions of whic'h are:
ARTICLE 60 ~ Posting and Filling of .Regular Para-time
Posi
60.1 Effective March 16] I98~, when a vacancy occurs
in the Classified Service for a re&ular part-tine
position in the bar~ainin~ unit or a new refular part-
time classified position is created in the bargaining
unit, it shall be advertfsed for at least ten (i0)
calendar days prior to the established closin~ date
when adverti~ed'withi~ a Ministry, o~ ~S shall be
advertised for at least fiftee~ (15) caten'dar days
priom to the established closin& date whez advertised
service-wide, Ail applicatiohs will be acknowledged.
Where practicable, no:ice of vacancies shell be posted
on bulletin boards.
60.2 In fillin~ a vacancy, the Employer shall give
primary consideration to qualifications and ability to
pe=form the Ne~u~med duties. Where qualifications and
ab~Iit~ are relativelz e~uai, ien~th· of continuous
se=vice shall be a consideration.
The remedial approach of this Board should be to order a
part~ to do somethin~ that it ought to have done and is permitted
to do. That is consistent with the decision of the Divisional
Cour% in Re OPBEU (Be=r~) and the Crow% in Ri~t of Ontario
(unreported), Feb. 17, I~S~. The Ho~ourable Mr. Justice Reid at
pa~e 14-$ of the decision commented thusly on this Board's
~urisdiction:
"The object of arbitration boards, both in the public and private
sector, is the resolution of differences. That is the mandate of
this Board. It ha~ beer. stated in unequivocal terms by this
court...
The Board's 'obligation under~ s. 19(1) is to "decide the
When looked at Without ".he confinement ~aposed by Article 5.1.2
"the matter" grieved w:_s wrong classification, ~f the }!o.ard
c~ncluded that the cla~-:';~" '
~ ....a.lon was wrong, i~s ::'.:~ndat,: was
As noted, that case dealt with classification, and the
upshot is that the Board now rgutine' °
~ orders the Employer to
create sew classifications which more co~rec~i¥ de~ribe the job
being done by an employee or group of employees, in so ordering,
we merely require the Employer to~do something tha~ is wi%him
exclusive sphere of a~tivity. It need not breach any law or the
Collective Agreement; to the contrary, it mu~% obe? the law.
But it would .be completely different were we' '..o order that
the Employer grant classified status :o the ']rievor in this case.
We would be ordering the Employer to compound its own error,
permit the Grievor to "jump the queue" over everyone else in the
'5~rgaining unit for whose benefit Artiole 60 ~of the Gollective
Agreeme'nt exists, We cannot an~ would not order the Employer to
overlook ~hose rights. The mos~ that we cas do is oblige the
Employer to obey the Collective' Agreement and, shoul~ it decide
to fill the position in the future, to post it in accordance with
either Article §0 or Article 4. To compensate the Grievor for
her lost opportunity, ~such as it may have been, we can safely add
a requirement thatr the cgmpetition be open at least ~o the extent
that the Grievor ~hall be invited to appl~ and her application,
if any, shall be considered in ·good faith by the Employer.
Should she choose to apply, she will be able to D:int to her'
exDe~ience on the 3ob as significant evidence th-a' she has the
abi=ity and qualifications to perfo-~.- the require/ duties.
Should she b~ successful in such competition, she will 'have
achieved something of a tangible nature in this grievance. Should
she fail to win the position, then at least the Emplcyer will have
done what it ought to have done and the Grievor will have been
given the opportunity that she might hae enjoyed at an earlier
date."
The basis for the form of relief afforded in Waqne~ was a desire
to find a reasonable foundation consistent with tke collective
agreement and the applicable statutory provision for going beyond
a mere declaration tha~ the grievor had been wrongly appointed to
the unclassified service. .The nature of the relief was
acknowledged to depend on the peculiar facts of a case (WaGner at
page 25) and could not have been awarded unless there had been a
prior finding that the grievor had been improperlyappointed to the
unclassified service. Indeed, the first thirteen pages of the
award are devoted to this issue and the development of a remedy
only followed such a finding' (wagner at page 13).
In the case'before us, we are asked to make a declara:ion as to the
nature of the relief which Will be afforded to the grievor before
hearing argument from counsel for the union on whether the grievor
had been improperly appointed to the unclassified service. This
is justified on the basis that the request arises out of the
preliminary objection raised by counsel for the employer: "that the
grievance was not arbitrable because only employees in the
classified service could grieve a violation of Article 4 of the
collective agreement." Counsel for the union responded to this
objection obliquely. She did not argue that .a grievor properly
within the unclassified service could do so. If she had'
endeavoured tO do so, she could not 'have succeeded on the clear
language of the collective agreement. Rather, 'she~ relied on
Wa~ner, and the basis' for awarding relief in that case, for her
argument in support of our having jurisdiction to hear the case.
In Wa~ner, jurisdiction was entertained only after a finding that
the grievor had been improperly appointed to the unclassified
service.
In the case of an individual grievance, as is the case before us,
it would be improper to make an award as to our jurisdiction to
grant relief of a particular kind on the assumption that a pre-
condition to our having jurisdiction will be satisfied. That is:
if the grievor .was improperly appointed to the unclassified
service, then a remedy superior to 'that awarded in Bressette can
be fashioned along the lines of that awarded in Wa~ner.
~agner requires that we'consider thepossible form of relief should
it be established that the grievor was improperly appointed to the
unclassified service. In holding that the preliminary Objection
fails, we are not to be seen to have decided that an employee who
is or was in the unclassified service has the right to grieve an
alleged violation of Article 4.1 either directly or indirectly.
What we are saying is that an employee who has not been properly
appointed to the unclassified service is not just entitled to
declaration to that effect, as was the case in Beresford and
Bressette. Bressette is quite similar to the case before us, in
that it involved employees who claimed to have been improperly
appointed to the unclassified service grieving an alleged violation
of Article 4. In Doth Beresford and Bressette, consideration of
further relief beyond a declaration was postponed pending an
opportunity being afforded the parties to resolve the matter of
remedy. Jurisdiction was retained to deal with-.the question of
relief should the parties experience difficulty in settling the
matter. (BereSford at page 16 and Bressette at page 22).
Counsel for the employer also referred us to Daniels 1544/87
(Fraser), which was a case involving an employee appointed to the
unclassified service who was not a seasonal employee. As in this
case, the employer in Daniels raised a preliminary objection that
the grievance, based on a violation of Article 4, was not
arbitrable. The Board, at page 3, found that unclassified staff
could not rely on a violation of Article 4. We would find no basis
for denying the application of Daniel~, if,it was on all fours with
the facts of this case.' In Daniels, there was no submission, or
finding, that the grievor had been improperly appointed to the
unclassified service. The same comment is made with respect to:
(1) Campbell 1088/86 (Draper), where no clain was nade that the
appointment to the unclassified service was improper.
· (2) ~ 1527/85 (Delisle)¥ where no Such claim was made, and
(3) Ahluwalia 752/83 (Springate), where no such claim was made'.
It is evident from comments made by counsel, that should we declare
the griever to have been improperly appointed to the unclassified
service, a referral back to them, as occurred in Beresford and in
Bressette, would merely delay the resolution of the dispute.
We will, therefore, request · that the Registrar reconvene the
hearing. Only after hearing such additional evidence· on 'the
question of whether the griever was improperly appointed to the
unclassified service, as well as argument on that issue, will we
be in a position to decide the issue of the relief available to the
griever, should there be a finding in his favour.
If the griever succeeds, to the'extent that we declare that he was
improperly appointed to the unclassified service, then we will have
to rule on the argument already presented to us as to the nature
of the additional relief, if any, which the griever will be
entitled to.
In su~u~ary:
The objection to~ our Jurisdiction, that the griever, as an
unclassified employee, has n° rights under Article 4, can not be
decided until a preliminary issue is firs: decided: was the griever
improperly appointed to the unclassified se~uice ? If he was not
improperly appointed, then the objection will succeed. If he was
improperly appointed, he will, at least, be entitled to a
declaration to that effect as in Bressette, on facts sufficiently
similar to those before us.
Neither Be~esford or Bressette precluded other forms of relief.
The Board in those cases did not yet have to deal with the question
of further relief sought unless the parties failed to achieve a
voluntary resOlution of this aspect of the case.
DATED at Tcronto, Ontario this 28th day of February, 1990.
M. Gorsky, Vice-Chairperson
M. ¥0rster, Member /--- ..
H. Roberts, Me~er