HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-2112.Chung.19-09-17 DecisionCrown 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# 2018-2112; 2019-1024; 2019-1025
UNION# 2018-0533-0005; 2018-0533-0010; 2019-0533-0007
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
(Chung) Union
- and -
The Crown in Right of Ontario
(Ministry of Government and Consumer Services) Employer
BEFORE
Janice Johnston
Arbitrator
FOR THE UNION
Manprit Singh
Ryder Wright Blair & Holmes LLP
Counsel
FOR THE EMPLOYER Jonathan Rabinovitch
Treasury Board Secretariat
Legal Services Branch
Counsel
HEARING September 11, 2019
-2-
DECISION
[1] This matter was scheduled for mediation on April 11, 2019, pursuant to the
expedited process set out in Article 22.16 of the collective agreement. Article
22.16 states in part:
22.16.2 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.
22.16.7 Decisions reached through the mediation/arbitration process shall have
no precedential value unless the parties agree otherwise.
[2] I have three grievances before me in this case.
[3] In Grievance No: 2018-0533-0005 filed on June 21, 2018 the Grievor alleges:
I grieve that the employer has violated my rights with regards to but not restricted
to Articles 2, 6, 9 & 8.1.1 of the OPSEU collective agreement.
The settlement desired is “Advancement to an SO7 level position”
[4] In Grievance No: 2018-0533-0010 filed on December 8, 2019 the Grievor
alleges:
I grieve that my rights have been violated through articles 2, 3, and 21, as well as
any other article, policy or legislation made known in the course of this grievance.
The settlement desired is “Full redress, including the removal of the letter of
reprimand on file”
[5] In Grievance No: 2019-0533-0007 filed on April 30, 2019 the Grievor alleges:
I grieve that my rights have been violated through articles 2, 3, and 9, as well as
any other article, policy or legislation made known in the course of this grievance.
The settlement desired is:
-3-
1. Return to work and have equal rights as other staff members in the same unit
and approve the accommodation requests by the doctor’s “return-to-work”
medical questionnaire requested on Apr 9th,
2. Ensure development work is performed in a healthy working environment
during the period of outstanding ongoing grievances,
3. Have access authorizations to all related servers, development, libraries,
sources supported within the unit.
[6] We were unable to reach a settlement on April 11th. At the end of the first day,
the parties agreed to continue settlement discussions. These were unsuccessful
and the matter was scheduled to continue on September 11, 2019. The
mediation was again unsuccessful. Therefore, we explored ways of expediting
the arbitration.
[7] I directed the Union to provide a Will Say from the grievor that shall provide
specific particulars with regard to any alleged statements made by the Employer,
or alleged conduct on the part of the Employer that constituted a violation of the
collective agreement or any relevant employment statutes with regard to
grievances Number 2018-0533-0005 and 2019-0533-0007. This Will Say will be
provided to the Board by December 13, 2019. The Employer was directed to
provide a Will Say from Mr. Munish Sabharwal by December 13, 2019 which
shall outline the reasons why he issued a letter of reprimand to the grievor on
November 20, 2018.
[8] After the submissions have been filed a conference call shall be scheduled to
determine next steps to be taken in this case.
[9] To ensure that this case did get dealt with in a timely fashion we agreed to set
March 24, 2020 as a potential hearing date if one was deemed necessary.
Dated at Toronto, Ontario this 17th day of September, 2019.
“Janice Johnston”
______________________
Janice Johnston, Arbitrator