HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-0270.Easter.17-10-30 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#2017-0270; 2017-0271
UNION# 2017-0108-0011, 2017-0108-0012
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
(Easter) Union
- and -
The Crown in Right of Ontario
(Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services) Employer
BEFORE Felicity D. Briggs Arbitrator
FOR THE UNION Gregg Gray
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
Grievance Officer
FOR THE EMPLOYER Greg Gledhill
Treasury Board Secretariat
Centre for Employee Relations
Employee Relations Advisor
HEARING October 4, 2017
- 2 -
Decision
[1] The Employer and the Union at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre
agreed to participate in the Expedited Mediation-Arbitration process in
accordance with the negotiated Protocol. A number of the grievances
were settled through that process. However, these grievances
remained unresolved requiring a decision from this Board. The
Protocol provides that decisions will be issued within a relatively short
period of time after the actual mediation sessions and will be without
reasons. Further, the decision is to be without prejudice and precedent.
[2] Bradley Easter is a classified Correctional Officer who filed two
grievances in 2017. One alleged that he was improperly assigned to
an administrative schedule thereby disentitling him to certain
provisions regarding statutory holiday pay.
[3] Mr. Easter was injured at work on December 30, 2016 and was absent
on WSIB for a two-week period. He returned on January 18th to
modified duties. He received January 1st, one of the named Paid
Holidays under the Collective Agreement, off with pay but claims that
because he was originally scheduled to work that day, his entitlement
is greater.
[4] The Employer was of the view that irrespective of whether the grievor
was assigned to work an administrative schedule, the grievor did not
work on the Paid Holiday due to his work place injury and consequently
there is no violation of the Collective Agreement given that he received
the Paid Holiday off with pay.
[5] After reviewing the provision of both the Unified and COR provisions
of the Collective Agreement I must agree with the Employer. There has
been no violation and therefore the grievance is dismissed.
- 3 -
[6] The second grievance filed by Mr. Easter asserted that the Employer
violated the Collective Agreement and a Memorandum of Agreement
between the parties setting out provisions for the “Compressed Work
Week Schedules, Vacation Protocol and Post Selection Process” at
EMDC. In particular, he claimed that the Employer knew in February
that a new group of COs were about to be rolled over into classified
positions and therefore it should have, in effect, alter the vacation
selection schedule. By failing to do this, the quota for the number of
CO hours available for vacation requests increased just as the COs
with the greatest amount of seniority were to make selections thereby
reducing the grievor’s opportunity for vacation time in prime summer
months.
[7] I have reviewed both the Memorandum of Agreement and all of the
documents relating to the vacation selection process and I must
dismiss the grievance. The Employer followed the protocol without
exception. Having said that, I certainly understand why the grievor was
frustrated by the fact that he – and others in the same range of seniority
– were not the first to benefit from the increase in CO vacation hours
that occurred due to an increased number of classified COs.
Dated at Toronto, Ontario this 30th day of October 2017.
Felicity D. Briggs, Arbitrator