HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-0643.Holwerda.82-06-28643/81
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
Between :
Before:
For the Grievor:
For the Employer:
Hearing:
OPSEU (Amy Holwerda)
-and:
The Crown in Right of Ontario
(Ministry of the Solicitor
General)
G. Brent - Vice Chairman
E. J. Bounsall - Member
W. E. Evans - Member
E. Shilton Lennon, Counsel
Golden, Levinson
R. 9. Itenson
Staff Relations Officer
Civil Service Commission
Xarch 17, 1982
Griever
Employer
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DECISION
The matter in dispute concerns the classification of Ms. 43~
Holwerda, who currently holds the position of Office Services Superti’sor
in Administrative Services in the Financial Services Branch of the
Ministry of The Solicitor General. She has been in the posi cion since
1976 and at the time of the grievance was classified as a Clerk 4,
General.
The grievance has had a somewhat unusual history, which should be
recorded in order to clarify our jurisdiction in the msttter. The
grievance was filed on September 4, 1981, claiming reclassification to
Clerk 5, General as the appropriate relief. The griever received the
following reply (Ex. l), dated November 3, 1981:
Re : Classification Grievance
Dear Iys. Holwerda,
This memorandum is in response to your
classification grievance about which we held a
second stage meeting on October 21, 1981.
As a result of the findings of an on-going
classification review, and my investigation of your
grievance, as the Deputy Minister’s designee, your ’
position has been reclassified at the level of CX-
11 in the Clerical Services Group of the Clerical
Services Module within the ~Managenk?ot Compensation
Plan, retroactive to May 1, 1981,.
There fore, while I found merit in your grievance
that your positlon is improperly classified as a
Clerk 4, General, my findings are that Clerk 5,
General as claimed in your settlewnt would also be
an inappropriate classification.
Yours sincerely,
(si gned)
C. Truman (Xs)
A./Senior Classification Officer
At the commencement of the hearing, the question of the griever’s
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status as a member of the bargaining unit “as raised, and the parties
discussed the issue among themselves. The Board was then infor!rzed that
the parties were agreed that the griever’s exclusion from the bargaining
unit “as an error, and that she “as, and still is, properly considered
to be a member of the barsining unit. The parties agreed that the CH-
I1 classification was and is an improper one for the griever, and that
the Only question before this Board is whether ‘;be griever is properly
classified as a Clerk 4, General. The parties also agreed that the
griever’s duties have not changed since May, 1981 when there “as a
general classification review.
The griever’s latest position specification (Ex. 6) is effective
May 1, 1980. The form shows that’there is one incumbent for the job and
that the job involves directly supervising six posi ti ens and seven
incumbents. Tbe evidence before usindicated that the griever no”
di ret tly supervises eight incumbents in six positions and indirectly
supervises two incumbents in one position (Ex. 4). The specification
lists the following under the headings X’urpose of Position”, “Sumue ry
of Duties and Responsibilities” and ‘SkiJls and Knowledg Required to
Perform the Work”:
PURPOSE OF POSITION
To supervise and co-ordinate the provision
office services and to provide other administra
services to a portion of the Ministry..
of
ti ve
SUMMARY OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Supervises and co-ordinates the provision of
office services to a portion of the Xinistry
by:
- receiving all typing, setting priorities on
basis of knowledge of deadlines or by
consulting concerned s.ta ff, assigning
special projects, etc.;
60X - ensuring the smooth flu” of work, including
assigning and checking work, explai ni ng
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assignments, etc.;
; co-ordinating and arranging clerical, typing
and receptionist services for specific areas
of the Ministry, e.g. Financial Services
Branch, Minister’s Office, Transport Branch,
Purchasing Section, etc.;
- providing relief or other coverage in areas
of stockroomfmaill~ssenger and file room,
as necessary;
- overseeing the use and maintenance of Branch
vehicle; e.g. moni tori ng whereabouts,
ensuring the arrangement of regular
servicing, investigating apparent misuse,
etc.;
- co-ordinating non-routine requests for
messenger services and arranang coverage
for mail as necessary;
- discussing procedural problems with
subordi “a te s and supervi sor , and
recommending changes;
- training and supervising summer students
including recomrrending rehire, dismissal,
etc.;
- supervising staff including discussing
problems such as attendance, etc., referring
more serious problems to supervisor with
recommendations.
2. Provides a variety of administrative services
by:
- controlling petty cash disbursements,
maintaining adequate funds and records of
Sam, ensuring disbursements are charged to
appropriate Branches, balancing ledger,
etc.;
35% - resolving matters related to buildings
security and maintenance complaints re
lights, heating, air conditioning,
telephones, washrooms, etc., contacting
maintenance staff, security services
supervisors, Be 11 Te le phone, etc., to
request servicing and assistance;
- arranging for telephone installations,
removals, re loca ti ons , etc.; making
recommendations re location, type of phone,
etc., to Managers; liasing with Governrm?nt
Services and Bell Telephone to explain
requirements, etc.
- assuming responsibility for telephone
di ret tory for the LNinistry; corresponding
with Ministry officials re deletions,
additions, changes, etc.; coding type
requirements for printing; meeting
~deadlines; ordering and arranging delivery;
- making arrangements for workshops and
training courses approved by supervisor;
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e.g. St. John’s Ambulance, telephone
training, etc.;
- authorizing taxi chits or subway tokens for
courier semi ce and staff; approving
invoices for payment;
- providing general assistance to Ministry
officials re administrative services, e.g.
arranging for newspaper delivery, etc.;
- maintaining awareness of new systems and
equipment, e.g. word processing equipment,
etc.; attending demonstrations;
- recommending policy or procedural changes to
supervisor; implementing approved changes;
participating in staff meetings, providing
opinions;
- resolving problems, e.g. emergency
deliveries or projects for Minister, Deputy
Minister, etc.; establishing priori ties,
etc.;
- assisting Manager with special projects
budget, etc.;
- completing attendance records for the
Administrative’ Services Section and
submitting them to Personnel Services Branch
as required;
- maintaining Ministry control for issue of
air travel cards; obtaining and/or
cancelling cards as necessary, conflrudng
status periodically with Program Managers.
3. Performs related duties, as assigned.
5%
SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED TO PERFORM THE WORK
Several years progressively responsible office
experience. The ability to understand the
objectives of the work unit and to develop
practices and procedures to expedite them.
Initiative and good judgerent; good communication
skills. Supervisory ability.
On the same document the following reasons are given for having
classified the position as Clerk 4, General:
Primary responsibility is for supervision of staff
engaged in office services try explaining
procedures, assigning and checking work and
maintaining discipline.
Performs responsible clerical tasks requi ring a
good background knowledge of local practices, e.g.
petty cash disbursements and records, buildings
security and maintenance problems, telephone lines
and general administrative services for Xinistry
:
officials.
1”c”mbe”t is responsible for exercising judgexent
in dealing with variations from established
guidelines or standards, e.g. emergency deliveries
Or
special projects or requests for the Minister,
De WY, etc., and recommending changes in policies
and procedures to supervisor.
The griever’s position was classified according to the ClSSS
standard for the Clerical, VPi*& Stenographic, and Secretarial Class
Series (Ex. 2). the appropriate part of the preamble for the series and
the portions applicable to both the Clerk 4, General and Clerk 5,
General are reproduced below:
KINDS OF WORK COVERED:
These five series cover all office positions
and office supe rvi sory posi ti ons that are not
covered by a specialized clerical, technical,
equipment operating, or professional class series.
GENERAL CLERICAL SERIES - 7 CLASSES:
This series covers positions where the purpose
is to perform clerical work entirely or in
combination with incidental typing, stenographic or
machine operating duties. Where exclusion of the
latter would ‘significantly change the character of
a position, or where they occupy a large portion of
the working time, the position should be assigned
to one of the specialized classes, e.g. Cle ri ca 1
Typist. POSI tions for which specialized clerical
series exist, e.g. Clerk, &il and &ssenger,
Clerk, Filing, etc. should not be assigned to this
series. Group leader re sponsi bi li ty no~rmally
begins at the third level, while. the fourth and
a hove usually cover positions involving line
supervision; however, non-supervisory positions can
also be included.
CLERK 4, GENERAL
CLASS DEFINITION:
Employees in positions allocated to this class
perform a variety of responsible clerical tasks
requiring a good background knowledF of speci fit
regulations, statutes or local practices.
Decision-making involves judgment in dealing with
variations from established guidelines .-or
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standards. Normally, employees receive speci fit
instructions only on unusual or special problems as
the work is performed under conditions that permit
little opportunity for direct supervision by
others. Matters involving decisions that depart
radically from established practices are referred
to supervisors.
Tasks typical of this level include the
evaluation or assessment of a variety of
statements, applications, records or similar
material to check for conformity with speci fit
regulations, statutes or administrative orders,
resolving points not clearly covered by these
instructions, usually by authorizing adjustments or
recomraending payment or acceptance; supervising a
small group of “journeyman clerks” or a larger
group of clerical assistants by explaining
procedures, assigning and checking work and
maintaining discipline.
QUALIFICATIONS:
1. Grade 12 education or an equivalent
combination of education, training and
experience .
2. About four years of progressively responsible
clerical experience or an equivalent
c ombi “a ti on of experience and higher
educational qualifications.
3. Ability to communicate clearly both orally and
i n wri ti ng; ability to instruct and supervise
the work of subordinates.
Revised, December, 1963
CLERK 5, GENERAL
CLASS DEFINITION:
Employees in positions allo,cated to this’ class
perform responsible clerical work requiring
de tailed knowledge of a body of regulations,
statutes or local practices, together with a
thorough understanding of the objectives of the
work unit. Decision-making involves judgment in
the interpretation and application of policy or
administrative directives to problems where the
i *tent of existing instructions is obscure in
speci flc cases. This frequently necessitates
modifying work processes or the development of new
methods. Although the work is carried out with a
large degree of independence, it is reviewed for
consi s,tency of decision-mking. Difficult
technical questions, or those involving policy
determination are referred to supervisors. ._
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Tasks typical of this level include
responsibility for a significant non-supervisory,
clerical, or clerical accounting function in~volving
the interpretation, explanation and application of
a phase of departmental legislation or regulations
and requiring the ability to make acceptable
recommendations or provide functional advice;
supervising a group ‘of “‘journeymen clerks”
performing clerical duties of varying complexity or
a smaller group engaged in more specialized work by
planning, assigning and reviewing work, deciding
priori ties, maintaining production levels and
carrying responsibility for the total performance
of the unit.
QUALIFICATIONS:
1. Grade 12 education, or an equivalent
combination of education, training and
experience; preferably completion of
additional training such =S related
correspondence and. uni ve r si ty extension
courses; thorough knowledge of office
practices and procedures.
2. About six years progressively responsible
clerical experience or an equivalent
c ombi na ti on of experience and higher
education.
3. Abi li ty to evaluate the effectiveness of
clerical~ procedures and staff performance; ability
to supervise the work of other employees; ability
to interpret regulations and instructions into
procedures and practice; ability to prepare
effective correspondence, instructions and reports.
Revised, December, 1963
The griever also testified concerning her job and compared the job
with the proposed job specification which had been prepared for the
proposed 0X-11 reclassification (Ex. 7). While this latter document
must be considered to be inaccurate by the agreelilent of the parties, it
can be examined, not as an agreed upon job specification, but rather to
de te rmi ne the extent~to which it does reflect the duties performed by
someone in the position before us. One of the problems with the
document, though, is that it is structured to emphasize the sort of
aspects which would justify an exclusion from the bargaining unit, ‘3”d
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the parties are agreed that the griever’s position is not one iJhich
should be excluded from the bargaining unit.
The griever testified that the summary of duties and
responsibilities in the May, 1980 job specification (Ex. 6) is accurate,
and to@ ther with the “Statement of Major Responsibilities” in the
posi ti on description (Ex: 7) does represent the duties and
responsi bi li ties of the position. The griever also agreed with other
aspects of the C?s11 position description, in particular the description
of the knowled@ required, contacts, and, with some explanation and/or
reservation the judgement and accountability descriptions.
The classi’fication system was explored in the testimony of His.
Carolyn Truman, ,wbo has been a Classification Officer since 1979. III
summry, the position was classified by finding a general fit in the
description of the ‘General Clerical Series” in the preamble of the
class standard (Ex. ‘2). Then the evaluation would begin by going to the
first level within the series and comparing the job to the standard
therein. This would proceed until a fit was found at a particular
level, then the job would be evaluated against ,the standard of the next
higher level to determine ‘where the fit was stronger., In the case of
this job, Ms. Truman concluded that the strongest fit was with the Clerk
4, General standard.
MS. Truman was the author of the letter (Ex. 1) reproduced at the
beginning of the.decision. She testified that she was mistaken about
the quality of the supervisory functions perforwd by the griever and,
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the basis of this misunderstanding, had’an exclusion questionnaire
prepared. She said that she is now aware that the quality of the
supervisory aspects of the flievor’s job is not such that it would
quali fy for an exclusion from the bareining unit. She said t!lat her
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re fe re nce to the Clerk 4, General classification being inaccurate was
based on the assumption that the position qualified for an exclusion
from the bargaining unit.
She said that she considered that the griever’s position was one
which requi%ed the performsnce of a variety of responsible clerical
tasks, such as petty cash, airline credit card, and messenger
responsibli ties which required a good knowledge of “local practices”.
She said that, while the griever probably possesses a “de tai led
knowledge of . . . local practices, together with a thoroough
understanding of the objectives of the work unit”, it is not the sort of
knowledge which is required to perform the job. She also said that she
considered the sort of decision making which was required in the job was
closer to that described in the Clerk 4 standard, in that it involved
the setting of priorities and making decisions recognizing the
priorities and the hierarchical structure of the Ministry. She said
that all “radical departures from established practices” are referred to
supervision, and that the position did not require the interpretation of
‘a bscure ” instructions or procedures.
She said that, in the second paragraph of the standards for both
the Clerks 4 and 5 (i.e., ‘Tasks typical.. . “), the first portion of the
description does not apply to the position. She said that-the sort of
sup+ rvi si on required by the job was closer to that described in the
Clerk 4 standard, at least in that the description of the people
supervised was more appropriate.
The thrust of Ms. Truman’s eti,dence ws s that the decision
come rni ng the classification of the position was based on the second
branch of the ‘Tasks typical” paragraph as well as the fit with first
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paragraph of the standard. It was, and is, her view that, all things
considered, the best fit was with the Clerk 4, General description.
In order to protided the relief requested, the Board must first be
convinced that the position was misclassified. In making this decision
it must be kept in mind that the method in which the griever performs
her job is not an issue before us. Indeed, by all accounts the griever .
appears to be an extremely able and competent person whose enterprise
and initiative undoubtedly makes her a valuable member of the branch,
so there would probably be neither contest nor problem if we were asked
to evaluate her performance.
All the evidence placed before us would seem ‘to indicate that,
although there may be some merit to the position that the position’s
super-d sory tasks fall sormzwhere between the Clerk 4 and 5 General
standards, the thrust of,the first paragraph of the Clerk 4, General
standard is more appropriate to the position’s functions than is that of
the Clerk 5, General. There is no dispute about the required duties and
responsibilities of the position, and the only evidence heard about the
appropriate xay to classify the position according to the standards was
given by Ms. Truman. Although she was examined and cross-examined at
length, tis. Truman was unshaken in her conviction as to the appropriate
way to evaluate the position according to the ChSS standards. Her
assessment of the position and her evidence concerning the application
of the standards was reasonable and convincing.
Given all of the evidence before us, it’ must be concluded that
there is nothing to show that the position has been improperly
classified according to the applicable standards. Accordingly, it is
our conclusion that the grievance must be denied and that the griever’s
posi ti on i s properly classi fled as a Clerk 4, General. !+z wish to
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repeat that the Board understands the parties have agreed that the
position is one which is properly included in the bargaining unit.
DATED AT LONDON, ONTARIO THIS 28th DAY OF JUXZ, 1982.
Gail Brent, Vice-Chairman
"I concur"
W. J. Evans, Member
"I dissent" (dissent to follow)
E. .I. Bounsall, Member