HomeMy WebLinkAboutMurphy 09-10-23
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
between
Ontario Public Service Employees Union (Local 241)
and
Mohawk College
Classification Grievance: Mary Murphy
For the Union: Tracey Ann Procipzcuk, President, Local 241
Mary Murphy, Grievor
Mary Hyde
For the College: Jason Green, Counsel
Sheila Walsh, Director, HR and Support Staff Relations
Joanne Metcalfe, Manager,Campus Stores
Before: Louis M. Tenace
Heard at Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ontario, on October 19, 2009
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AWARD
Mary Murphy, the grievor, has been employed in this position at Mohawk College since
March of 1987. She is classified as a Buyer/Accounts Payable Co-ordinator at Payband
G. The position supports retail operation in the main bookstore at Fennell Campus as well
as at two satellite stores (Stoney Creek and Brantford) through operational and customer
functions. The incumbent is responsible for procurement and purchasing functions for
texts and custom courseware as well as maintaining shipping, purolator, printing and
brokerage accounts and for initiating all payments to publishers and to other vendors. It is
the first point of contact for the manager in relation to accounting invoices or payments.
The essence of the grievance is that the Position Description Form (PDF) for the
grievor?s position which was re-submitted for evaluation on or about June 29, 2007
resulted in lower evaluations for factor # 9 (Physical Effort) and factor # 11 (Working
Environment). Consequently, the position was rated at payband G. The grievor alleges
that these two factors should be evaluated at a higher level which would result in the
position being rated at payband H. The PDF is not in dispute. The following will outline
the respective positions of the parties and my conclusions:
Physical Effort
The Union requests a rating of Level 2, 26 points for this factor;
The College has rated it at Level 1, 5 points as well as an ?Occasional? rating of 6 points.
The Union submits that the grievor?s duties involve considerable lifting of textbooks and
other heavy materials. Boxes of books can weigh from 5 to 55 lbs. There is also a
requirement for daily mail pick up, delivery and sorting of mail to and from the mail
room. She must load and unload books from a cart on a daily basis. Moreover, the
grievor?s rating is lower than that of other employees working in the same area.
The College submits that very little physical effort is required as that term is considered
for job evaluation purposes. The PDF shows that the position is basically a sedentary one
with some occasional lifting which is increased during start-up times (four weeks in
September and three weeks in January) when the volume of book and merchandise
returns to the Bookstore may require it. As for the ratings of other employees, the
College submitted that the exercise was not one of comparing positions. In any event, the
rating for this factor for the person working next to the grievor was identical.
Since the work location was just a floor above the location for this hearing, it was
decided to ?take a view? ? more about this later.
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Working Environment
The Union requests a rating of Level 2, 38 points for this factor.
The College has rated it at Level 1, 7 points and an ?Occasional? rating of 9 points.
The Union submits that the Bookstore office is an open concept environment consisting
of three work stations containing a photocopier/fax machine, staff mailboxes, bulletin
boards and filing cabinets; it affords little privacy. The Manager?s office is at one end and
the actual Bookstore Accounts/Cash office is at the other end. The office is dusty and
dirty and at some times may have an unpleasant odour as a result of housing printed
materials and supplies. At start-up times, it can be quite noisy and crowded because of
the traffic in and out. The position is also subject to dealing with verbally abusive
customers. Entry to this area requires a key which is issued to full-time staff members
only; others must knock on the door. The position also requires occasional travel.
The College acknowledges that working in a closed office with a locked door may not be
a perfect work environment but, for the most part, the grievor enjoys acceptable working
conditions. It was also acknowledged that the area could become crowded and noisy but
this mainly occurred twice a year during start-up times. As for travel, there was a
requirement to attend trade shows or to go to other campuses but this would happen three
or four times a year and could not be considered as ?regular and recurring?. To recognize
these situations, the College has accorded an ?Occasional? rating of 9 points.
Conclusions
During the course of the hearing, it was agreed that the parties would ?take a view? of the
work location because it was merely one floor above the location where we were holding
the hearing.
The site in question is located at the back of the College Bookstore. The bookstore itself
probably resembles most bookstores on campuses in that it sells books as well as a
variety of other sundries. The room in question at the back could probably best be
described as what was once a fairly large storeroom attached to the bookstore that was
later converted into an office. I am not suggesting that this is the case, only that the
location and set-up would lead one to conclude this. In any event, it probably measures
about 10x30 feet with a door at one end leading to another small, separate office where
the manager works. All of this is windowless save for a single window looking out to the
bookstore from the main room. The space is crowded and contains three workstations and
a photocopier/fax machine. Small piles of books were stacked on the floor by the
grievor?s work station. I could not detect any particular unpleasant odours. The site was
quiet during our visit and there were virtually no customers in the bookstore itself.
With respect to the issue of ?abusive? customers, no substantial proof was offered other
than an assertion that some customers could become abusive. Certainly, had there been
concrete examples, they would have been provided.
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Taking into account all of the above, including what the parties told me at the hearing, I
must conclude that the College?s ratings for this PDF are reasonable with respect to the
factors of Physical Effort and Working Environment. Concerning the first of these
factors, clearly, while there is a requirement for the incumbent to move books from time-
to-time, the duties are those one normally associates with an office environment and not
with a shipping/receiving function. It is true that some lifting and moving of books is
required but the College has recognized this as an occasional requirement. Moreover, it
was not disputed that the bulk of such occurrences took place during the start-up times,
twice a year. It was said that other employees working nearby were rated differently. I
have no basis on which to deal with that aspect or to make any comparisons. I did not
detect any suggestion by the Union that the College had been discriminatory in its
treatment of the grievor, but if that were the case, then it might constitute grounds for a
non-classification grievance. That is something for the grievor and the Union to
determine and I offer no comment or opinion in that regard.
As far as Working Environment is concerned, while I can easily agree that there are more
pleasant places for a work location than the grievor?s (and the others there), most work
sites do not consist of corner offices with a view. It was not an ideal location but neither
did I find it noisy, dirty or smelly. It was somewhat crowded and could be unpleasant
during start-up times but was not unusual. It would obviously benefit from an outdoor
window or two but the site does not lend itself to that. I am satisfied that the College has
recognized this in according this factor an ?Occasional? rating of 9 points.
I am satisfied that the dictates of the Job Evaluation Manual have been properly applied
by the College.
In summary, The College?s ratings for Factor # 9 ? Physical Effort and Factor # 11 ?
Working Environment are maintained. The point total for the position remains at 515 and
the payband remains at G. The completed Arbitration Data Sheet is attached.
I thank the parties for their co-operation and assistance.
rd
Signed and dated this 23 day of October, 2009
Louis M. Tenace
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