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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-1333.Lowen.94-12-16 ~ ., ( ( ONTARIO EMPLOYES DE LA COURONNE CROWN EMPLOYEES DE L 'ONTARIO GRIEVANCE COMMISSION DE , 1111 SETTLEMENT REGLEMENT . : BOARD DES GRIEFS - 180 DUNDAS STREET WEST SUiTE 2100, TORONTO, ONTARfO. M5G lZ8 TELEPHONE/TELEPHONE (416) 326-738 180, RUE DUNDAS OUEST BUREAU 2100 TORONTO (ONTARIO) M5G lZ8 FACSIMILE /TELECOPIE (416) 326-739 1333/92 IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION Under THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT Before THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD BETWEEN OPSEU (Lowen) Grievor - and - The Crown in Right of Ontario (Ministry of Transportation) Employer BEFORE: A Barrett Vice-Chairperson E. Seymour Member C Linton Member FOR THE S. Philpott UNION Counsel Koski & Minsky Barristers & Solicitors FOR THE A. Rae EMPLOYER Counsel Filion, Wakely & Thorup Barristers & Solicitors HEARING October 7, 1994 October 11, 1994 ~ ( D E CIS ION ( This is a job competition grievance which arose in May, 1992, when the grievor was not selected for the position of Corridor Control Technician in the Planning and Design Section of the Engineering and Right-of-Way Office of the Ministry At the time of the competition Mr Lowen had 24 1/2 years' service with the Ministry, and the successful incumbent, Ms Roebuck, had only two years' service Essentially it is the position of the union that Mr Lowen's knowledge and qualifications derived from long years of service were not properly elicited and considered in the competition process The competition was comprised of an oral and written test for 75% of the marks, and supervisors' evaluations for 25% of the marks Mr Lowen scored lowest of all seven candidates in both areas His marks were 43% lower than Ms. Roebuck's Both the grievor and incumbent were classified as Intermediate Designers immediately prior to the competition It was agreed that there is no direct career path to the position of Corridor Control Technician, but most are promoted from the Intermediate Designer classification and given on-the-job training The designers are involved in planning road alignments or in detailed design of the alignments, calculating quantities of materials required and assisting in the preparation of tender documents The purpose of the Corridor Control Technician position is to review proposals and enquiries for draft plans of subdivisions, disposal or rent of 0 ( ( 2 surplus right-of-way, severances, official plans and amendments, land use and entrance permit applications and utility encroachments, and to initiate criteria for transfers of reversions and access designations, and assess compatibility of these proposals with respect to the present and future transportation needs in the region The qualifications for the position include experience in the planning and design of highway facilities and a working knowledge of Ministry procedures pertaining to the work Whereas in Planning and Design there is little or no public contact, the Corridor Control Technician has substantial contact with the public and for that reason the incumbent must have effective written and oral communication and interpersonal skills. The technicians work with minimal supervision and to deadlines and must therefore have demonstrated reliability and good work habits, along with excellent analytical and problem-solving skills Mr Lowen concedes that the interview questions were fair and reasonably related to the job He did not do well in the interview and in particular he failed to adequately describe to the interview panel how his background and experience related to the functions of the Corridor Control Technician. The union says that given the grievor's 17 years in the position of Intermediate Designer he must have a more valuable background and experience to offer than the incumbent, and the selection process must have been flawed if it did not elicit this information The panel should have gone outside the interview process to delve into Mr Lowen's background and find out about his wealth of experience In the mid-1970's the corridor . ( 3 \ control functions were performed in Mr Lowen's office for a few years and he obtained some experience with those functions at that time M~. Lowen did not volunteer this information at his interview or in his application form nevertheless the union contends that the interview panel should have somehow ferreted this information out The thrust of the union position is that the grievor practically knew how to do the job However, under cross- examination he testified that of all the numerous duties listed on the job specification, he had performed only three On the evidence his exposure to the duties of Corridor Control Technician is no greater than the incumbent's and in some areas the incumbent's exposure is superior, particularly in the area of report writing Mr Lowen is a high school graduate and has taken several Ministry- sponsored courses The supervisors' assessment worth 25% of the marks is challenged as being too subjective because written responses to various questions were requested instead of conducting an oral discussion with the supervisor We fail to see how written questions and answers are more subjective than oral questions and answers The questions were relevant and designed to elicit the qualifications the panel was looking for Mr Lowen testified in-chief that he had never been criticized for his reliability, work habits, attendance or ability to meet deadlines He conceded only that he had been criticized for his work attitude, but explained his attitude as arising from boredom . ( 4 at the cut-and-dried nature of detailed design work He is happier now that he has moved into the planning function Under cross- examination he acknowledged that performance appraisals from as far back as 1977 rated his performqnce as less than satisfactory It was noted on more than one occasion that Mr Lowen did not display a great deal of interest in his work and that he required more than the normal amount of supervision It was also noted on more than one occasion that the quantity of work performed was not up to standard, which was ascribed to him being away from his desk too often and for lengthy periods of time In no case was he considered by his supervisor to be suitable for advancement In contrast Ms Roebuck's student assessment report rated her excellent in all categories, and her first performance appraisal as a classified Intermediate Designer rated her satisfactory in all of the key result areas specified It was noted that she works well with others and is above average with respect to work effort and initiative It was further noted that in addition to Ministry- sponsored training courses, she had taken three additional computer courses on her own time and expense and at her own initiative As Ms Roebuck's resume reveals, she is a graduate in Civil Engineering Technology from St Lawrence College, Kingston, where she won several awards for scholarship and was elected as a student representative on the curriculum advisory committee The interview panel was impressed with her experience as a production and research assistant on a video documentary exploring the impact and consequences of a pressurized oil pipeline in Texas, where she . G ( 5 gained valuable experience interviewing residents, government officials and elected politicians on a sensitive subject The interviel4T panel was also impressed with Ms Roebuck's presentation, organization and competent responses to the technical questions asked at her interview The union bears the onus to prove that the grievor was relatively equal to the incumbent in skills and ability if this grievance is to succeed It is only if he can be found to be relatively equal to the incumbent that his seniority should be considered In this case the union has not satisfied that onus In fact there was no evidence presented to us to indicate that the competition was flawed in any way The questions were relevant and designed to elicit appropriate information about the candidates The marking scheme was not challenged The interview panel averaged their individual scores for each candidate and did not engage in consensus scoring Assigning 25% of the marks to supervisors' comments and obtaining those comments in written form is an appropriate way to assess a candidate's abilities Mr Lowen's low score on his supervisor's comments was consistent with his low score on the test Conversely Ms Roebuck's high score on her supervisor's comments was consistent with her high score on the test It would not have been appropriate for the panel to go digging into Mr Lowen's background to ascertain what experience he could bring to the job it is Mr Lowen's responsibility to bring this information to the attention of the panel The panel did . 0 D . (, { 6 had done so they would not have been impressed We-heard testimony from both the grievor and the incumbent and upon our own assessment find Ms Roebuck's oral communication skills to be superior to the grievor's The 43% differential in marks between the incumbent and the grievor is borne out in a review of each candidate's test results and supervisors' comments For all of these reasons this grievance must be dismissed Dated at Toronto this 16th day of December, 1994 c/~~ A Barrett, Vice-Chairperson ~a o/~.; - E Seymour, Member -/p~ ~ C Linton, Member I I .