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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-1759.Laurin.92-04-09 ONTARIO EMPLO Y~cS DE LA COURONNE / CROWN EMPLOYEES OE L 'ON TARIO ~4' GRIEVANCE C,OMMISSION DE '- SETTLEMENT REGLEMENT BOARD DES GRIEFS - 180 DUNDAS STREET WEST, SUITE 2tO0, TORONTO, ONTARIO. M5G IZ8 TELEPHONE/TELePHONE., (4~61 326-1388 ;'BO, RUE OUNDA,~ OUEST, BUREAU 2100, TORONTO (ONTARIOJ. M5G 1Z8 FACSIMILE/~ELEcOP~E .. (416] 32~- 1396 [759/90 ZN ~ ~TTE~ OF ~ ~ZT~TZO~. Under Before BE~BN OPSEU (~urin) Grievor The Cro~ in Riqh2 off Ontario (Minist~ o~ Tourism ~ Recrea2ion) BEFO~: R. Verity Vice-Chai~erson J. A Car~thers Me. er D. Clark He~er FOR THE R. Healey GRIEVOR Counsel .Gowling, Strathy & Henderson Barristers & Solicitors FOR THE M.. Fleishman EMPLOYER Counsel Crown Law office Civil Ministry of the Attorney General HEARING February 21, 1992 DECISION Mona Joly and Ronald Laurin, both classified as Travel Consultants 3, were employed at the Ontario Travel Information Centre on Highway NO. 417 near Hawkesbury, Ontario until it was destroyed by fire on May 22, 1990. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Joly was assigned to work at the Lancaster Travel Centre and Mr. Laurin was assigned to the Cornwall Travel Centre. Subsequently, the Ministry decided not to rebuild the "Hawkesbury Travel Centre" but to change its operation from full- time to seasonal. The seasonal operation was scheduled to commence in the summer of 1991. On July 11, 1990 Joly and Laurin received written notice declaring them "surplus to the needs of the o~ganization effective immediately". The letter also advised "if you are unsuccessful in obtaining alternate employment, you will be laid off on January 11, 1991" The following day, both employees gave written notice of their intent to exercise displacement rights. Subsequently, on August 24, identical grievances were filed alleging improper denial of displacement rights under Article 24.6.1 of the collective agreement. At the original hearing, the sole issue was the location of the grievors' headquarters at the time they were declared surplus. 3 In·a decision dated October 30, 1991, the panel found that the real headquarters of Ms. Joly and Mr. Laurin were Lancaster. and Cornwall respectively. At p. 17, the award read: ...the grievance of Mona Joly must succeed on a finding that she has been improperly denied displacement rights under Article 24.6.1 of the collective agreement. Ms. Joly shall be forthwith reinstated to her position as Travel Consultant at Lancaster and shall be compensated for all lost wages and benefits. At the request of the parties, the panel shall remain seized on the grievance of Mr. Laurin. In the absence of agreement on the Laurin grievance, thepanel was reconvened on February 21, 1992.~ 'It was agreed tSat Cornwall is within a 40 kilometre radius ·of Lancaster.· Third pa~ty notice was given to Debra Lynn Baker and Lucy Rondeau who work as Travel Consultants at the Lancaster Travel Centre. Both employees have less seniority than Ms. Joly or Mr. Laurin. Ms. Joly is now employed at the Lancaster Travel Centre following the Board's award. Mr. Fleishman advised that Lucy Rondeau will be given notice of displacement. Mr.~ Laurin now seeks the same remedy accorded to Ms. Joly. There is, however, a significant difference on the facts of the Laurin grievance. Unlike Ms. Joly, Ronald Laurin was assigned to a vacancy in another Ministry effective November 14, 1990. Essentially, the facts are not in dispute. As indicated 4 previously, on August 24, 1990 Mr. Laurin grieved that he had been denied displacement rights under Article 24r6.1 of the collective agreement. In the fall of 1990, Mr. Laurin became aware of a Clerk-Typist vacancy (classification 0.A.G. 8) in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food at Alfred College. He expressed interest in that position even though it attracted a lower salary. On October 9, 1990, Mr. Laurin filed a grievance under Article 24 seeking assignment to the position in question. After being interviewed and tested, the grievor was assigned the position and was "red circled" pursuant to Articles 24.3 and 5.4 of the collective agreement. The Union .maintains that Mr. Laurin is 'entitled to the same displacement rights awarded to Ms. Joly. The issue in dispute is whether the assignment of the grievor to the Clerk-Typist position at Alfred College on November 14, 1990 bars ,access to displacement rights under Article 24.6.1. The job security provision contained in Article 24 reads, in its entirety, as follows: ARTICLE 24 - JOB SECURITY 24.1 Where a lay-off may occur by reason of shortage of work or funds or the abolition of a position or other material change in organization, the identification of a surplus employee in an administrative district or unit, institution or other such work area and the subsequent assignment, displacement or lay-off shall be in accordance with seniority subject to the conditions set out in this Article. 24.2.1 Where an employee is identified as surplus he shall be assigned on the basis of his seniority to a vacancy in his ministry within a forty (40) kilometre radius of his headquarters provided he is qualified..to perform the work and the salary maximum of the vacancy is not greater than three percent (3%) above nor twenty percent (20%) below the maximum salary of his classification, as follows: - a vacancy which is in the same class or position as the employee's class or position; - a vacancy in a class or position in which the employee has served during his current term of continuous service; or - another vacancy'. 24.2.2 With mutual consent, a surplus employee shall be · assigned to a-vacancy in his ministry beyond a forty (40) kilometre radius of his .headquarters provided he is qualified to perform the work and the salary maximum of the vacancy is not greater than three percent (3%) above nor twenty percent (20%) below the maximum salary of his classification. Relocation expenses shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of the Employer's policy. 24.2.3 Where an employee has not been assigned in accordance with sub-~ections 24.2.1 or 24.2.2, he shall be assigned on the basis Of his seniority to a vacancy in another ministry within a forty (40) kilometre radius of his headquarters provided he is qualified to perform the work and the salary maximum of %he vacancy is not greater than three percent (3%).above nor twenty percent (20%) below the maximum salary of his classification, as follows: - a vacancy which is in the same class or position as the employee's class or position; - a vacancy in a class or position in which the employee has served during his current term of continuous service; or 6 - another'vacancy. 24.2.4 Effective March 16, 1987, with mutual c6nsent, a surplus employee who has not been assigned in accordance with subsections 24.2.1, 24.2.2 or 24.2.3 shall be assigned to a vacancy in another ministry beyond a forty (40) kilometre radius of his headquarters provided .he is qualified to perform the 'work and the salary maximum of the vacancy is not greater than three percent (3%) above not twenty percent (20%) below the maximum salary of his classification. Relocation expenses shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of the Employer's policy. 24.3 Where an employee is assigned to a vacancy in accordance with sub-sections 24.2.1, 24.2.2, 24.2.3 · or 24.2.4, Section 5.4 of Article 5 (Pay Administration) shall apply. 24.4 An employee who does not attend a placement interview when requested by the Employer or does not accept an assignment in accordance with sub-sections 24.2.1 or 24.2.3 shall be laid off and the provisions of Section 24.5, 24.6 and 24.10 shall not apply. 24.5 Where an employee has not been assigned to a vacancy in accordance with sub-sections 24.2.1, 24.2.2, 24.2.3 or 24.2.4, he shall be subject to lay-off in accordance with the following applicable sections. 24.6.1 An employee who has completed his probationary period and who is subject tc~ lay-off as a surplus employee, shall have the right to displace an employee who shall be identified by the Employer in the following manner and sequence: (a) The Employer will identify the employee with the least seniority in the same class in which the surplus employee is presently working and if such employee has less seniority than the surplus employee, he shall be displaced by the surplus employee provided that such employee is in the same ministry and within a forty (40) kilometre radius of the headquarters of the surplus employee and provided that the surplus employee is qualified to perform the work of such employee; (b) If no employee in the same class has less' seniority than the surplus employee, the Employer will identify the employee in the class in the same class series immediately below the class in which the surplus employee is presently working, who has the least seniority and if he has less seniority, than the surplus employee, he will be displaced by the surplus employee provided that such employee is in the same ministry and within a forty (40) kilometre radius of the headquarters of the surplus employee and provided that the surplus employee is qualified to perform the work of such employee; (c) Failing displacement under (a) or (b) the Employer will review the classes in the same class series in descending order until a class is found in which the employee with the least seniority in the class has less seniority than '- the surplus ,employee. In'that event such- employee will- be displaced by the surplus employee provided that such employee is in the same ministry and within a forty (40) kilom~tre radius of the 'headquarters -of the surplus employee and provided that the surplus employee is qualified to perform the work-of such employee; (d) Notwithstanding the above, in the event that there are one or more employees in one or more classes in another class series in which the surplus employee has served during his current length of continuous service who have less seniority than th~ surplus employee, the surplus employee will displace the employee with the least seniority in the class with the highest salary maximum (no greater than the current salary maximum of the surplus employee's .class) and provided that the surplus employee has greater seniority than the displaced employee .hereunder, provided that such employee is in the same ministry and within a forty (40) kilometre radius of the headquarters o~ the surplus employee and provided that the surplus employee is qualified to perform the work of such 8 employee. - 24.6.2 Any displacement shali be limited to a class which has a salary maximum no greater than the maximum of the surplus employee's current class and Section 5.4 of Article 5 (Pay Administration) shall not apply. 24.7 The employee must indicate in writing to the Director of ~uman Resources his intention to displace another employee as far in advance as possible but not later than two (2) weeks in advance of his date of lay-off. If he does not · indicate his intent to dis. place another employee within this period, he shall be deemed to have opted to be laid off and th.~ provisions of Section .24.10 shall not apply. 24.8 Where the employee chooses not to exercise his rights under Section 24..6, he shall be laid off and the provisions of Section 24o10 shall not apply. 24.9 An employee who i:s displaced by an employee who exercises his right under Section 24.6 shall be declared surplus and the provisions of Article 24 shall apply. 24.10.1 Effective March 16,. 1987, where a surplus employee has not been assigned to a vacancy in accordance with Section 24.2 and no displacement is possible under Section 24.6 and the employee is within the two (2) week period prior to his date of lay-off, he shall be assigned on a retraining basis to a vacancy ,in his ministry within a forty (40) kilometre radius of his headquarters, subject to the following conditions: (a) Such assignments shall be made on the basis of seniority; i (b) Such assignments shall be made during the two (2) week period' prior to the employee's date of lay-off, where, based on information in its records or as provided by the Union or the surplus employee, the ministry determines that the employee has transferable skills which would enable him to meet the normal 9 requirements of the work of the vacancy within a maximum retraining period of twenty-five (25) ~ays; (c) Such assignments shall be limited to a class which :has a salary maximum no greater than the maximum of the surplus employee's current class! and Section 5.4 of Article 5 (Pay Administration) shall not apply; (d) Wherel a surplus employee is assigned to a vacancy in accordance with 24.10.1, his date of laY-off shall be extended to accommodate the r~training period, up to a maximum of twenty-five (25) days; (e) A surplus employee who has been assigned to a vacanqy in accordance with 24.10.1 shall have no .rights under Sections 24.2 or 24.6 following his original date of lay-off; (f) If, a~ the end of the retraining period, the surplus employee meets the normal requirements of the vacancy to which he has been ass%gned, he shall be confirmed in that vacancy; (g) If, at the end of the retraining period, the surplus employee does not meet the normal requirements of the vacancy .to which he has been assigned, he shall be laid off without any additional notice under Section 24.11. 24.10.2 In 24.10.1(.b) and (d), days shall include all days exclusive ~f Saturdays, Sundays and designated holidays. 24.10.3 A surplusl employee who does not accept an assignment ~n accordance with 24.10.1 shall be laid off. 24.10.4 Where an employee has been assigned under 24.10.1 to a vacancy in a class with a salary maximum lower than the salary maximum of the class he held immediatelyl prior to such assignment and subsequentlly he is laid off in accordance with 24.10.1(g),~ any termination payments 'to which he may be entitled under Article 53 (Termination Payments) ~hall be based on the salary he was reCeiving i~ediately prior to the assignment under. 10 24.10.1. 24.10.5 The assignment of a surplus employee to a vacancy in accordance with Section 24.2 shall have priority over an assignment under 24.10.1. 24.11 An employee shall receive a notice of lay-off or pay in lieu thereof as follows: (a) two (2) weeks' notice if his period of employment is less than three (3) years; (b) three (3) weeks' notice if his period of employment is three (3) years or more but less than four (4) years; (c) four (4) weeks' notice if his period of employment is four (4) years or more but less than five (5) years; (d) six (6) weeks' notice if his period of employment is five (5) years or more but less than seven (7) years; (e) seven (7) weeks' noti.ce if his. period of employmeht is seven (7) years or more but less than eight (8) years; (f) eight (8) weeks' notice if his period of employment is eight (8) years or more but less than ten (10) years; (g) twelve (12) weeks" notice if his period of employment is ten (10) years or more; with copies of such notice to the Human Resources Secretariat and the Union. 24.12 An assignment under this Article shall not be considered a promotion or a demotion. 24.13 Where an employee has been identified as surplus, reasonable time off with no loss of pay and with no loss of credits shall be granted to attend scheduled interviews for positions within the public service, provided that the time off does not unduly interfere with operating requirements. 24.14~1 Effective March 16, 1987, where a person who, prior to release, had completed at least one (i) year of continuous service, has been released and a position becomes' vacant in his former ministry within a forty (40) kilometre radius of his former headquarters within one (1) year after his release, notice of the vacancy shall be forwarded to the person at least fourteen (14) days prior to the closing date of the competition and he shall be appointed to the vacancy if: (a) he applies therefor within the fourteen (14) days, and (b) he is qualified to perform the required duties, and (c) no other person who is qualified to perform the required duties 'and who has a greater length of continuous service applies for the vacancy pursuant to this subsection. 24.14.2 Appointment under 24.14.1 shall be limited to a class which has a salary maximum no greater than the maximum of the class the person held when identified as-a surplus employee and Section 5.4 of Article 5' (.Pay Administration) shall not'apply. 24.14.3 A person shall 'lose his rights under 24.14.1 when: (a) he does not attend a placement interview when requested by the Employer; or, (b) he does not accept an appointment, in accordance with 24.14.1; or, (c) having accepted an appointment in accordance with 24.14.1, he fails to report for duty within two (2) weeks of receiving written notice of the appointment. 24.14.4 The assignment of a surplus employee to a vacancy in accordance with Sections 24.2 or 24.10 shall have priority over an appointment under 24.14.1. 24.14.5 Where a person who has been released is reappointed under this Article to the same position or a position having the same classification as the 12 " -. position which he occupied immediately prior to his release, he shall be reappc~inted at a rate within the salary range applicable to the position equivalent to the rate at which he was paid immediately prior to his release. 24.14.6 Where a person who has been released is appointed under this Article to . a position in .a classification that is not the same as the classification of the position which he occupied immediately prior to his release, he shall be appointed at a rate within the salary range applicable to the position commensurate with his qualifications and experience, including previous relevant public service. 24.15 It is understood that when it is. necessary to assign surplus employees or -appoint persons in accordance with this Article, the provisions of Article 4 (Posting.and FiIling of Vacancies or New Positions) shall not apply. 24.16.~ E~fective Mar~h 16, 1987', where it is necessary to. release an employee, who -has completed his Probationary period, because of the introduction of technological change in equipment or methods of operation, at least three (3} months' notice in advance of the change shall be given to the employee affected and to the Union. 24.16.2 the matter will then be referred to the joint consultation committee of the parties to discuss and to attempt to resolve the problem with relation to the reallocation and retraining of the affected employees with a view to minimizing the effects of the Employer action required to be taken. 24.17 For purposes of Article 24 lay-off means the same as release as per Section 22(4) of The Public Service Act, Revised Statutes 6f Ontario, 1980, Chapter 418. 24.18 Article 24 shall apply t°probationary employees in accordance with the terms of the Minutes~ of Settlement set out in Appendix 10. The Union argued that the Employer violated the collective agreement in denying Mr. Laurin displacement rights because the- assignment did not comply with Article 24.2.4. Mr. Healey maintained Such an assignment requires mutual consent, that the grievor was denied the opportunity for meaningful consent, and that he was mislead by the Ministry's error in determining the headquarters for purposes of Article 24. The Union contended that in the absence of time limits for either assignment .rights or displacement rights, the collective agreement contemplated the immediate implementation of all Article 24 rights. In the alternative, the proper time limit "to cast about for a vacancy" for assignment purposes cannot exceed the eight weeks notice of lay-off as provided for in Article 24.11(f). Further,, Mr. Healey contended that i~ 12 weeks n6tice of lay-off.was deemed to be a reasonable period for assignment to a vacancy (under 24.11(g)), that period would have expired by mid October. He contended that the grievor accepted the assignment with displacement rights pending and that the panel's decision in Jol¥ should have determined the matter. Finally, Mr. Healey argued that in these circumstances., the doctrine of estoppel should apply whereby the Ministry cannot rely on -its own error in identifying the headquarters when that error worked to the detriment of the grievor. The Union cited the decision of Vice-Chairperson Samuels in OPSEU (Union Grievance) and Ministry of Community and Social Services 2507/86' 14 Counsel for the Employer contends that there was no breach of the collective agreement in that the grievor.was properly assigned under Article 24.2.4 and accordingly was no longer subject to lay- off under 24.5 or to exercise displacement rights under 24.6. Mr. Fleishman argued t~at the facts support a finding that the grievor actively sought and consented to the assignment in question.. COunsel contended that the fallacy of the Union's submission was that there was no evidence that the issue of headquarters played any part in the grievor's decision to seek the assignment. He maintained that the assignment was by mutual consent under Article 24.2.4. The Employer's submission was to the effect.that Article 24 rights are triggered by the surplus designation and that employee rights commenc~ with the assignment phase. Mr. Fleishman con{ended that the assignment rights cannot b~ disregarded under the wording of Article 24.2. The Employer relied upon the decision of Vice-Chairperson Gorsky in O~'SEU (Adrianne Read et al) and Ministry of Health 1548/89, 2015/89. Article 24 and the entitlement to displacement rights has been interpreted in a number of GSB decisions including Adrianne Read et al and Ministry of Health, supra. The issue in the Read decision was not unlike the 6ne before us. In that case, four employees who Worked as Group Processing Clerks processing OHIP premiums (classification OAG 8) grieved the denial of displacement rights under Article 24.6.1. The matter proceeded on the grievance of Diane Van Luven. Due to the elimination of health insurance premiums, on July 7, 1989'Ms. Van Luven was given written notice of identification as a surplus employee under Article 24'.1 of the collective agreement with the actual date of abolition of the position to be determined. On August 15,'the employer confirmed in writing that Ms. Van Luven's position would become surplus on May 15, 1990. On August 22, 1989, Ms. Van Luven gave written notice of her intent to exercise displacement rights under 24.6.1. On September 12, the employer acknowledged her assignment rights in accordance With Article 24.2 and advised that displacement rights would follow only when all assignment possibilities had been exhausted and she had not been assigned to a vacancy~ On November 2, 1989, she was assigned to the position of. Document prOcessing-Clerk (classification .OAG 6) with the Ministry of TransDortation with a start date of November 14, 1989. Rather than face lay-off, Ms. Van Luven accepted the position. Subsequently, she filed a grievance alleging improper denial of displacement rights under 24.6.1 and complained of the assignment to the lower salary position despite the red circling. In the Read case, the employer contended that Article 24.6.1 did not apply where an employee had been assigned to a vacancy under the assignment provisions of Article 24.2. The Union maintained that the grievors had the option of exercising Article 24.6.1 rights to displace junior employees rather than await assignment. In dismissing the grievances, Vice-Chairperson Gorsky referred 16 to the decisions in Teresa Becket ~511/82 (samuels) and Patan~io #227/83 (Verity). Mr. Gorsky offered the following rationale at pp. 19-20: Article 24 is an unusual Article, which is quite different from similar provisions found in the private sector which deal mainly with displacement rights of senior employees. If it has been the intention of parties to permit employees subject to Article 24.1 to circumvent the assignment procedure, it would have been a simple matter to say so. As it is, the parties have drafted a job security provision which creates employee rights which move through successive stages of assignment, displacement or layoff. While I would not~ in the circumstances, find the acceptance of the assignment by Ms. Van Luven as precluding her arguing that the assignment right and the displacement right are not part of a scheme that must be followed; having considered Article 24 in its entirety, I would agree with Mr. Verity, although in a different factual context, that the situation cannot be avoided given the present wording of Article 24. I find that that Article does not permit an employee to forego the process of assignment. Where assignment is offered and refused the employee would be subject to layoff without any rights under Article 24.6.1. The wording of Article 24 leads me to the same conclusion as arrived at b~ Mr. Verity, although in a different factual context. That is: "The only choice given to a surplus employee under Article 24 is to accept an assignment or to face layoff .... " As Mr. Verity noted, although restricting his comments to the process of assignment, there must be: "... a degree of order in sequence in view of the number of ~:mployees involved in a major reorganization ... otherwise chaos would be the end result." Not only employees have a genuine concern over the subject of job security when there is a material change in organization or the abolition of a position. The Employer is concerned with carrying out a reorganization in an orderly fashion. If employees had a choice between assignment and displacement rights, the situation for the Employer could become truly chaotic. I am satisfied that if the parties had decided to create alternative rights (either assignment or displacement) in favour of employees affected by Article 24.1, it would ,have been a simple matter to say so. In drafting Article 24.1 as they did the parties created a scheme that is much more consistent with the establishment of a mandatory process moving from assignment to displacement to layoff. In each case subject to certain rights and subject to the penalty of a loss of those rights where an.employee does not accept an assignment as provided' for in Article 24.4. At pp.'21-22, Mr. Gorsky goes on to state: .... Displacement rights under Article 24.6.1 are subject to seniority, and displacement rights only arise after ~he failure to secure a position for an employee identified under Article 24.1 through the process of assignment. What the Grievors' ask for is the creation of a right which they regard as "logical". This caanot be achieved under Article 24.1. The other employees working for 0HIP were not surplus employees. If they could be treated as surplus employees, then the Grievors would not have been surplus employees and would have had no rights under Article 24, which only grants rights to surplus employees. What the Grievors really request is that the surplus list include them as well as the employees whom they wish to displace and they ask for an immediate right of displacement. That is, displacement without going through the assignment procedure. For the reasons above described, this is not what the parties have agreed to. In our view, the Gorsky rationale in the Read decision applies with equal.force to the facts before us. We would agree that the Employer's right to assign under Article 24.2 is not time restricted in the sense that displacement rights arise only in circumstances where there has been no assignment of a surplus employee to a vacancy under the various subsections of Article 24.2. In the instant matter, Article 24 rights were triggered on July 11, 1990 with the identification of Mr. Laurin as a surplus employee and the notification that he would be laid off on January 11, 1991 if he were unsuccessful in securing alternate employment. Article 24 provides for a staged procedure beginning with assignment, then displacement and finally lay-off. On the 18 evidence, we find that Mr. Laurin was properly assigned to the Clerk-Typist position under Article 24.2.4 of the collective agreement. The assignment was by mutual consent on the evidence that it was Mr. Laurin who brought the vacancy to the Ministry's attention and Mr. Laurin who grieved the failure to be assigned to the Clerk-Typist position. That grievance was eventually resolved in his favour. We would agree with the Em]91oyer that there is no evidence that the issue of Mr. Laurin"s headquarters played any part in his decision to seek the assignment.. It would appear to us that Mr. Laurin chose the assignment at Alfred College rather than face the prospects qf lay-off with full knowledge of the displacement grievance pending. In .these circumstances, the grievor's assignment to the vacancy at Alfred College does bar access to displacement-rights. In Our view, this is not.the proper case for the application of the doctrine of estoppel. In the result, this grievance is dismissed. DATED at Brantford, Ontario, this ~th.'. day of April, 1992. '" D. CLARK - MEMBER