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Home My WebLink About2002-3109.Heathcote et al.06-11-24 Decision Crown Employees Grievance Settlement Board Commission de reglement des griefs des employes de la Couronne Nj ~ Ontario Suite 600 180 Dundas Sl. West Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z8 Tel. (416) 326-1388 Fax (416) 326-1396 Bureau 600 180, rue Dundas Ouest Toronto (Ontario) M5G 1Z8 Tel. : (416) 326-1388 Telec. : (416) 326-1396 GSB# 2002-3109,2003-0915,2003-0916,2003-0919, 2003-2250, 2003-2302, 2003-2631, 2003-3997, 2004-1692,2004-3108,2005-1093,2006-0426,2006-0427 UNION# 2003-0229-0004,2003-0229-0014, 2003-0229-0015, 2003-0229-0018, 2003-0248-0136, 2003-0229-0032,2003-0248-0156,2004-0368-0010,2004-0234-0412,2004-0678-0030, 2005-0521-0016,2006-0530-0010,2006-0530-0011 IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION Under THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT Before THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD BETWEEN Ontario Public Service Employees Union (Heathcote et al.) Union - and - The Crown in Right of Ontario (Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services) Employer BEFORE Felicity D. Briggs Vice-Chair FOR THE UNION Stephen Giles Grievance Officer Ontario Public Service Employees Union FOR THE EMPLOYER Greg Gledhill Staff Relations Officer Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services HEARING September 18,2006. 2 Decision In September of 1996 the Ministry of Correctional Services notified the Union and employees at a number of provincial correctional institutions that their facilities would be closed and/or restructured over the next few years. On June 6, 2000 and June 29, 2000 the Union filed policy and individual grievances that alleged various breaches of the Collective Agreement including Article 6 and Article 31.15 as well as grievances relating to the filling of Correctional Officer positions. In response to these grievances the parties entered into discussions and ultimately agreed upon two Memoranda of Settlement concerning the application of the collective agreement during the "first phase of the Ministry's transition". One memorandum, dated May 3, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as "MERC 1" (Ministry Employment Relations Committee)) outlined conditions for the correctional officers while the second, dated July 19, 2001 (hereinafter referred to as "MERC 2") provided for the non-correctional officer staff. Both agreements were subject to ratification by respective principles and settled all of the grievances identified in the related MERC appendices, filed up to that point in time. While it was agreed in each case that the settlements were "without prejudice or precedent to positions either the union or the employer may take on the same issues in future discussions", the parties recognized that disputes might arise regarding the implementation of the memoranda. Accordingly, they agreed, at Part G, paragraph 8: The parties agree that they will request that Felicity Briggs, Vice Chair of the Grievance Settlement Board will be seized with resolving any disputes that arise from the implementation of this agreement. It is this agreement that provides me with the jurisdiction to resolve the outstanding matters. 3 Both MERC 1 and MERC 2 are lengthy and comprehensive documents that provide for the identification of vacancies and positions and the procedure for filling those positions as they become available throughout various phases of the restructuring. Given the complexity and size of the task of restructuring and decommissioning of institutions, it is not surprising that a number of grievances and disputes arose. This is another of the disputes that have arisen under the MERC Memorandum of Settlement. When I was initially invited to hear theses transition disputes, the parties agreed that process to be followed for the determination of these matters would be virtually identical to that found in Article 22.16.2 which states: The mediator/arbitrator shall endeavour to assist the parties to settle the grievance by mediation. If the parties are unable to settle the grievance by mediation, the mediator/arbitrator shall determine the grievance by arbitration. When determining the grievance by arbitration, the mediator/arbitrator may limit the nature and extent of the evidence and may impose such conditions as he or she considers appropriate. The mediator/arbitrator shall give a succinct decision within five (5) days after completing proceedings, unless the parties agree otherwise. The transition committee has dealt with dozens of grievances and complaints prior to the mediation/arbitration process. There have been many other grievances and issues raised before me that I have either assisted the parties to resolve or arbitrated. However, there are still a large number that have yet to be dealt with. It is because of the vast numbers of grievances that I have decided, in accordance with my jurisdiction to so determine, that grievances are to be presented by way of each party presenting a statement of the facts with accompanying submissions. Notwithstanding that some grievors might wish to attend and provide oral 4 evidence, to date, this process has been efficient and has allowed the parties to remain relatively current with disputes that arise from the continuing transition process. Not surprisingly, in a few instances there has been some confusion about the certain facts or simply insufficient detail has been provided. On those occasions I have directed the parties to speak again with their principles to ascertain the facts or the rationale behind the particular outstanding matter. In each case this has been done to my satisfaction. It is essential in this process to avoid accumulating a backlog of disputes. The task of resolving these issues in a timely fashion was, from the outset, a formidable one. With ongoing changes in Ministerial boundaries and other organizational alterations, the task has lately become larger, not smaller. It is for these reasons that the process I have outlined is appropriate in these circumstances. During the many months the parties have engaged in this expedited dispute resolution process we have encountered a number of grievances with striking similarities. It was always the intention of the parties that these transition decisions would be brief and it was hoped that an award on a particular matter would be applied to other outstanding grievances. To some extent this has occurred but we are finding that there remain grievances which are virtually identical in nature to matters that have been previously heard and determined. Many of these repetitive grievances allege improper surplussing while others vary from allegations of inaccurate or insufficient information being provided to allegations of various forms of discrimination involved in the work assignments. It is for this reason, the parties have asked that I issue a decision listing these grievances and my 5 determination of the facts without reasons. I concur that we are in a point in this process where it is appropriate to do so because there is little utility in repeating similar fact situations or the reasons for my determination. Therefore, the following grievances have been heard and determined: . John Heathcote . Robert Janes . Robert Janes . Robert Janes . Robert Janes et al . Jeff McCulloch . David Johnstone . Shawna McKellar . Penny Kellough . Carolyn Shea . Steve Saini . Carrie Fitzpatrick . Carrie Fitzpatrick 2003-0229-0004 2003-0229-0014 2003-0229-0015 2003-0229-0018 2003-0229-0032 2003-0248-0136 2003-0248-0156 2004-0234-0412 2004-0368-0010 2004-0678-0030 2005-0521-0016 2006-0530-0010 2006-0530-0011 Grievance denied Grievance denied Grievance denied Grievance denied Grievance denied Grievance denied Grievance denied Grievance denied Grievance denied Grievance denied Grievance denied Grievance denied Grievance denied