HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-3626 Union 17-08-25 Decision
Crown Employees
Grievance Settlement
Board
Suite 600
180 Dundas St. West
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z8
Tel. (416) 326-1388
Fax (416) 326-1396
Commission de
règlement des griefs
des employés de la
Couronne
Bureau 600
180, rue Dundas Ouest
Toronto (Ontario) M5G 1Z8
Tél. : (416) 326-1388
Téléc. : (416) 326-1396
GSB#2014-3626
UNION#2014-0999-0138
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
(Union) Union
- and -
The Crown in Right of Ontario
(Ministry of Community and Social Services) Employer
BEFORE Ian Anderson Arbitrator
FOR THE UNION David Wright
Ryder Wright Blair & Holmes LLP
Counsel
FOR THE EMPLOYER Felix Lau
Treasury Board Secretariat
Legal Services Branch
Counsel
HEARING August 18, 2017
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Decision
[1] Article 22.16 of the collective agreement applies to this matter. Proceedings are to
be expedited and decisions are to be brief and need not contain reasons.
[2] On January 17, 2017, the parties entered into a Memorandum of Settlement
(“MOS”) with respect to this matter. Paragraph 1 provides:
The Employer will provide three (3) days (7.25 hours per day) to the lieu
bank for staff who are currently employed by the Ministry [of Community and
Social Services] and were in the role of Caseworker (CW) at any point
between January 2014 and December 2015 to acknowledge the "challenges
faced by the employees during the transition to SAMS." These three lieu
days must be used by no later than March 31, 2019, or they will expire
without being paid out.
[3] The Employer provided the three lieu days by creating a “lieu bank” for each of the
affected employees in WIN. This was not accomplished until August 8, 2017. In
the result, the Union alleges that the Employer has breached paragraph 1 of the
MOS. By way of remedy it seeks an extension of the deadline by which
employees must use their lieu days to March 31, 2020; an increase in the number
of lieu days from three to six; and an increase in the value of each lieu day from
7.25 hours to 8.32.
[4] Having considered the representations of the parties, I make the following
directions to address the adverse effect of the delay:
(a) Each employee entitled to lieu days pursuant to paragraph 1 of the MOS may
ask that those lieu days be applied in whole or in part to any unpaid leave days
taken by that employee since January 17, 2017. If an employee makes such a
request, and still has days in his or her lieu bank, the lieu days will be so applied.
(b) An employee who is unable to use all of his or her lieu days by March 31, 2019
due to exceptional circumstances beyond his or her control will be permitted a
reasonable extension of the period in which the lieu days must be used.
[5] In addition, there is a dispute about whether employees who were on temporary
assignment or secondment as of January 17, 2017 should be considered to have
been “currently” employed by the Ministry for the purposes of paragraph 1 of the
MOS.
[6] Having considered the representations of the parties, I direct that an employee
who
(i) as of January 17, 2017 had a home position in the Ministry of
Community and Social Services but was seconded or on temporary
assignment to another Ministry, and
(ii) returns to a position within the Ministry on or before December 31,
2018
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will be considered an employee “currently employed by the Ministry” for the
purposes of paragraph 1 of the MOS.
[7] I am seized for the purposes of resolving any disputes arising from these
directions.
Dated at Toronto, Ontario this 25th day of August 2017.
Ian Anderson, Vice-Chair