HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-3193.Webber et al.19-04-25 DecisionCrown Employees
Grievance Settlement
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Commission de
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GSB# 2015-3193
UNION# 2016-0229-0001
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
(Webber et al) Union
- and -
The Crown in Right of Ontario
(Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services) Employer
BEFORE
Gail Misra
Arbitrator
FOR THE UNION
Dan Sidsworth
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
Grievance Officer
FOR THE EMPLOYER Al. J. Quinn
Ministry of Community Safety and
Correctional Services
Senior Employee Transition Advisor
HEARINGS January 18, 2019 and April 18, 2019
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DECISION
[1] Since the spring of 2000 the parties have been meeting regularly to address matters
of mutual interest which have arisen as the result of the Ministry of Community
Safety and Correctional Services as well as the Ministry of Children and Youth
Services restructuring initiatives around the Province. Through the MERC (Ministry
Employment Relations Committee) a subcommittee was established to deal with
issues arising from the transition process. The parties have negotiated a series of
MERC agreements setting out the process for how organizational changes will
unfold for Correctional and Youth Services staff and for non-Correctional and non-
Youth Services staff.
[2] The parties agreed that this Board would remain seized of all issues that arise
through this process and it is this agreement that provides me the jurisdiction to
resolve the outstanding matters.
[3] Over the years as some institutions and/or youth centres decommissioned or
reduced in size others were built or expanded. The parties have made efforts to
identify vacancies and positions and the procedures for the filling of those positions
as they become available.
[4] The parties have also negotiated a number of agreements that provide for the “roll-
over” of fixed term staff to regular (classified) employee status.
[5] Hundreds of grievances have been filed as the result of the many changes that have
taken place at provincial institutions. The transition subcommittee has, with the
assistance of this Board, mediated numerous disputes. Others have come before
this Board for disposition.
[6] It was determined by this Board at the outset that the process for these disputes
would be somewhat more expedient. To that end, grievances are presented by way
of statements of fact and succinct submissions. On occasion, clarification has been
sought from grievors and institutional managers at the request of the Board. This
process has served the parties well. The decisions are without prejudice but attempt
to provide guidance for future disputes.
[7] A group grievance was filed, in the lead name of Steven Webber, by Correctional
Officers at the Ontario Correctional Institute on January 25, 2016, claiming a breach
of the MERC Memorandum of Agreement (“MOA”), as it regards the April 24, 2014
“Resource Position Management (RPM) Schedule”.
[8] Pursuant to the MOA regarding the RPM Schedule, the Employer was going to
collapse existing RPM Correctional Officer schedules into the main schedule at each
institution when compressed work week agreements were re-negotiated (para. 1 of
the MOA). When the RPM schedule was collapsed, the parties had agreed that
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these positions would be incorporated into the regular schedule, and, would be
backfilled as operationally needed and required (para. 3 of the MOA).
[9] The Webber Group filed the grievance to bring to the attention of the Employer that
the RPM positions at that institution had not been collapsed into the main schedules.
Based on the Union’s submissions, it would appear that discussions between the
local parties at the Ontario Correctional Institute had stalled at that time. The
Webber Group claimed damages for lost opportunities in not being assigned to
backfill the RPM positions that would have been incorporated into the main
schedule. The backfill opportunities would have been at the regular rate of pay for
fixed term members, and at overtime rates for regular members.
[10] Having reviewed the documents and the parties’ submissions, including the MERC
Memorandum of Agreement, as it regards the April 24, 2014 “Resource Position
Management (RPM) Schedule”; the April 25, 2014 Memorandum from Steven Small
regarding the Resource Position Management Schedule; and the January 26, 2017
Memorandum of Agreement regarding Classified Correctional Officers Compressed
Work Week Schedule for the Ontario Correctional Institute, I am satisfied that no
one was disadvantaged at the time, and as such, this grievance is dismissed.
Dated at Toronto, Ontario this 25th day of April, 2019.
“Gail Misra”
______________________
Gail Misra, Arbitrator