Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-0500.Cunningham.81-06-26IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION Under The CROWN E,MPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT Before THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD Between: Before: -- For the Grievor: Mrs. J. Cuminghan Griever, - And - The Crown in Right of Ontario (Ministry of Natural Resources) Employer. Prof. J. W. SamJels Vice Chairman Mr. A. G. Stapleton Member Mr. I. Thomson Member . Mr. N. Luczay Grievance/Classification Officer 3ntario Public Service Employees Union For'the Employer: Blr. J. F. Benedict, klanager Staff Eelatkns M:;nistry of Cnrrectionkl Services t Hearing: June 9, 1881 -2- i The grievor is classified as a Clerical Typist 3 in her job at the Geoscience Laboratories of the Ministry of Natural Resources. She has always held this classification in this Ministry. She claims that she should be classified as a Secretary 4. The claim results from the grievor's change of duties occasioned by a reorganization within the Ministry in early 1978. This reorganization saw the griever's, immediate superior, a Secretary 4, leave the Ministry and the grievor assumed a role in the laboratories similar to the job pre- viously done by the Secretary 4. The grievor argues that in substance the job has remained the same, though now under a different heading, and she does the same work as was pre- viously classified Secretary 4. The Class Standard established by the employer (Exhibit 2) is not challengable, pursuant to s. 17(l) of _The Crown Emplovees Collective Barqaining Act, 1972, S.O. 1972, c. 67, as amended. The Standard provides, inter alia, \ in its Preamble: " SECRETARIAL SERIES - 5 CLASSES: This series covers positions of Secretaries to one or more,administrative officials. Recep- tionist duties, personal contact work and re- lieving the supervisor of administrative routines are characteristic of these positions. Some clerical functions, e.g. minor record-keeping, checking expense claims, processing mail and filing are commonly found as incidental duties. However, where the clerical work is substantial and present to a significant degree, the position should be assessed against the Clerical Steno- grapher or Clerical Typist Series. Although -3- elements of supervisory responsibility are men- tioned at the 4 and 5 levels, if such a respon- sibility is a significant and important part of the position, it should be assessed against stan- dards within other series. Ability to type at Civil Service Commission standards is a requirement for secretarial posi- tions. Dictation is taken by shorthand, speed writing and/or dictaphone. Allocation of in- dividual positions to the various levels within this series is based on an assessment of the judgement and initiative required as indicated by the degree of delegation in such areas as: com- posing correspondence, dealing with enquiries, arranging appointments, and exercising judgement in handling matters during the supervisor's ab- sence. In addition to the foregoing elements, the nature of frequent and substantial senior level contacts is an important allocation factor at the 5 level. And for the position in question: SECRETARY 4 Employees in positions allocated to this class receive a minimum of supervision, are ex- pected to often use initiative in dealing with matters not covered by standard procedures or established practices, and maintain normal office routines during the supervisor's absence. When taking dictation by shorthand or speed- writing and/or dictaphone, they are required to absorb the substance of the dictated matter and apply this knowledge in independently answering enquiries. They open and distribute incoming mail, retain routine matters for their own attention and action, and attach appropriate files, previous correspondence and related material to the mail forwarded to the supervisor. They typically have contact with professional members of the public, visiting dignitaries and occasional contacts with senior representatives and executives of organi- rations, dealing with the majority of enquiries themselves'by providing factual information re- lating to the activities, structure and programs of the organization. They arrange appointments based on their knowledge of their supervisor's schedule and commitments, normally without prior consultation and arrange meetings as assigned. They set up and maintain filing systems and perform incidental clerical duties such as checking expense accounts and posting information to basic records. They may assign and check the work of clerical and/or stenographic staff. From the griever's testimony, her job description (Exhibit 51, and the testimony of her superiors in the job, we learned about'the work she does. In my view, the,fol- lowing points are significant: a. She does a great deal of typ.ing. Nearly 50% of her time is spent on tasks which involve typing. b. Most of the rest of her time involves cleri- cal work - filing, keeping records, and related activities. C. She does not do any dictation or dictaphone work. In fact, she has been unable to pass the Civil Service Commission dictaphone test. It is significant to note that the Preamble to the~Class Standards mentioned that "where the clerical work is substantial and pre- sent ~to a significant degree, the position should be assessed against the Clerical Stenographer or Cle,rical Typist Series." We heard testimony from the woman whose position it is alleged is now filled by the grievor. We also had her job description at the time (Exhibit 6). In my view, the following significant differences are to be-found from what the grievor now does: -5- i a. This employee took dictation and shorthand. b. She set up the filing system by herself and. modified it as necessary. C. She maintained an accounting system for the Temiskaming Testing Laboratory. This Labora- tory no longer comes under the same authority. This task took her very little time each month. d. She exercised a certain degree of initiative, i not needed by the grievor, in matters such as (,i) attaching pertinent information from the files, when necessary, to incoming cor- respondence (ii.1 arranging appointments for her superior. It must be acknowledged, however, that in a significant re- spect, the list of tasks done by the grievor is the same as the list previously performed by a Secretary 4. I think it is fair to say that the tasks differ for several reasons: a. The grievor does not have the dictation and dictaphone sk~ills required to do this type of work: b. The reorganization did change the jobs some- what, not only for the grievor but also for the scientists who are superior to her; and --?i-~---- .--- n . ( C. -6 - The work style of her current superior, who was also her superior at the time of the grievance (July 19801, does not demand of her the same initiative and performance as was shown by the Secretary 4. In particular, he is very cautious in his own proofreading of reports. The grievor is not required to handle matters not covered by standard pro- cedures. He gives~ no dictation or dictaphone work. \I .In~ sum, in my view the evidence shows the fol- lowing: a. b. C. The grievor's job clearly became more onerous and required more responsibility after the reorganization. .She is handling her job very well. Her overall job does not involve the initia- tive and administrative role contemplated by the Class Standard for Secretary 4. This job involves only a modest amount of typing and clerical work. On the otherhand, the grievor's job description shows a significant typing and clerical component. The grievor is doing a great deal of the work previously done by a Secretary 4, but there are differences and they are sufficient to justify a different classification. It may - 7 - well have been the case that the grievor's predecessor would not have been classified as a Secretary 4 were it not for these extra responsibilities. In conclusion, after a serious consideration of all the evidence, I find that the grievor has not made out a case for the reclassification and the grievance is denied. Done at London, Ontario, thiszitday 06 , 1981. Vice-Chairman A.G. Stapleton and I. Thomson, Members, concur.