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Home My WebLink About2003-2176.Heathcote.05-01-04 Decision Crown Employees Commission de ~~ Grievance Settlement reglement des griefs Board des employes de la Couronne ~-,... Suite 600 Bureau 600 Ontario 180 Dundas Sl. West 180 rue Dundas Ouest Toronto Ontario M5G 1Z8 Toronto (Ontario) M5G 1Z8 Tel. (416) 326-1388 Tel. (416) 326-1388 Fax (416) 326-1396 Telec. (416) 326-1396 GSB# 2003-2176 UNION# 2003-0229-0033 IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION Under THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT Before THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD BETWEEN Ontano PublIc ServIce Employees Umon (Heathcote) Union - and - The Crown In RIght of Ontano (Mimstry ofCommumty Safety and CorrectIOnal ServIces) Employer BEFORE FelIcIty D Bnggs Vice-Chair FOR THE UNION Scott Andrews Gnevance Officer Ontano PublIc ServIce Employees Umon FOR THE EMPLOYER Gregory GledhIll Staff RelatIOns Officer Mimstry of Commumty Safety and CorrectIOnal ServIces HEARING December 10 2004 2 DeCISIon In September of 1996 the MmIstry of CorrectIOnal ServIces notIfied the Umon and employees at a number of provmcIaI correctIOnal mstItutIOns that theIr facIlItIes would be closed and/or restructured over the next few years On June 6, 2000 and June 29, 2000 the Umon filed pohcy and mdIvIdual gnevances that alleged vanous breaches of the collectIve agreement mcludmg artIcle 6 and artIcle 31 15 as well as gnevances relatmg to the filhng of correctIOnal officer posItIOns In response to these gnevances the partIes entered mto dIscussIOns and ultImately agreed upon two Memoranda of Settlement concernmg the apphcatIOn of the collectIve agreement dunng the "first phase of the MmIstry's transItIOn" One memorandum, dated May 3, 2000 (heremafter referred to as "MERC I" (MmIstry Employment RelatIOns CommIttee)) outhned condItIons for the correctIOnal officers willie the second, dated July 19,2001 (heremafter referred to as "MERC 2") provIded for the non-correctIOnal officer staff Both agreements were subject to ratIficatIOn by respectIve prmcIples and settled all of the gnevances IdentIfied m the related MERC appendIces, filed up to that pomt m tIme The partIes contmued to negotIate and agree upon further condItIons regardmg the transItIOn matters MERC 3 was sIgned by the partIes February 25,2002 WhIle It was agreed m each case that the settlements were "wIthout prejUdICe or precedent to posItIOns eIther the umon or the employer may take on the same Issues m future dIscussIOns", the partIes recogmzed that dIsputes mIght anse regardmg the ImplementatIOn of the memoranda. Accordmgly, they agreed, at Part G, paragraph 8 3 The partIes agree that they wIll request that FehcIty Bnggs, VIce Chair of the Gnevance Settlement Board wIll be seIzed wIth resolvmg any dIsputes that anse from the ImplementatIOn of thIS agreement It IS thIS agreement that provIdes me wIth the jUnSdIctIOn to resolve the outstandmg matters Both MERC 1 and MERC 2 are lengthy and comprehensIve documents that provIde for the IdentIficatIOn of vacanCIes and posItIOns and the procedure for filhng those posItIOns as they become aVailable throughout varIOUS phases of the restructunng GIven the complexIty and SIze of the task of restnlctunng and decommIssIOmng of mstItutIOns, It IS not surpnsmg that a number of gnevances and dIsputes arose ThIS IS another of the dIsputes that have ansen under the MERC Memoranda of Settlement When I was mItIally mVIted to hear these transItIOn dIsputes, the partIes agreed that the process to be followed for the detennmatIOn of these matters would be vIrtually IdentIcal to that found m ArtIcle 22 16 2 whIch states The mediator/arbItrator shall endeavour to assIst the partIes to settle the gnevances by mediatIOn If the partIes are unable to settle the gnevance by medIatIOn, the mediator/arbItrator shall detennme the gnevance by arbItratIOn When determmmg the gnevance by arbItratIOn, the medIator/arbItrator may hmIt the nature and extent of the eVIdence and may Impose such condItIons as he or she consIders appropnate The medIator/arbItrator shall gIve a succmct decIsIOn wItllln five (5) days after completmg proceedmgs, unless the partIes agree otherwIse The transItIOn commIttee has dealt wIth dozens of gnevances and complamts pnor to the mediatIOn/arbItratIOn process There have been many other gnevances and Issues raised before me that I have eIther assIsted the partIes to resolve or arbItrated. However, there are stIll a large number that have yet to be dealt wIth It IS because of the vast number of gnevances that I have decIded, m accordance wIth 4 my jUnSdIctIOn to so determme, that gnevances are to be presented by way of each party presentmg a statement of facts wIth accompanymg submIssIOns NotwIthstandmg that some gnevors mIght wIsh to attend and provIde oral eVIdence, to date, thIS process has been efficIent and has allowed the partIes to rem am relatIvely current wIth dIsputes that anse from the contmumg transItIOn process Not surpnsmgly, m a few mstances there has been some confusIOn about certam facts or sImply msufficIent detail has been provIded. On those occaSIOns I have dIrected the partIes to speak agam wIth theIr prmcIples to ascertam the facts or the ratIOnale behmd the partIcular outstandmg matter In each case thIS has been done to my satIsfactIOn It IS essentIal m thIS process to aVOId accumulatmg a backlog of dIsputes The task of resolvmg these Issues m a tImely faslllon was, from the outset, a fonnIdable one WIth ongomg changes m MmIstenal boundanes and other organIzatIonal alteratIOns, the task has lately become larger, not smaller It IS for these reasons that the process I have outlmed IS appropnate m these CIrcumstances The partIes have asked for clarIficatIOn to a decIsIOn dated July 6, 2004, regardmg the dISposItIOn of the gnevance of John Heathcote The MERC agreement of March 11,2002, SectIOn C, Paragraphs 11, 12, 13 and 14 state 11 The Employer wIll determme the effectIve date of the relocatIOn of the employee 12 All CorrectIOnal Officers who dechne the change m headquarters locatIOn may benefit from other prOVISIOns of tlllS Agreement and/or those of the CollectIve Agreement, mcludmg ArtIcle 20 13 All OCI CorrectIOnal Officers who accept the change m headquarters locatIOn to St Lawrence Valley wIll retam theIr AppendIx 13 entItlements as long as they mamtam a home posItIOn at OCI 5 14 The partIes agree that when an OCI CorrectIOnal Officer who has accepted AppendIx 13 entItlements to St Lawrence Valley pennanently leaves theIr posItIOn at OCI for any reason they relmqUIsh theIr AppendIx 13 entItlements The entItlements associated wIth the vacated posItIOn wIll be offered to another ehgible OCI employee, based on semonty, who has not already dechned AppendIx 13 entItlements to St Lawrence Valley m accordance wIth tlllS Agreement ThIS offer wIll be made wItllln fifteen days of the ansmg of the vacancy AppendIx 13 - RelocatIOn of OperatIOn beyond 40 KIlometre Radms states The Employer and the Umon herewIth agree that, when a mmIstry decIdes to change an operatIOn's headquarters to a locatIOn outsIde a forty (40) kIlometre radms of that operatIOn's current headquarters, the followmg terms and condItIons wIll apply 1 affected employees wIll be notIfied, m wntmg, of the mmIstry's decIsIOn to change the operatIOn's headquarters locatIOn and the date when such change wIll take place, 2 (a) employees may accept the change m headquarters locatIOn, m whIch case they wIll be ehgible for reImbursement of relocatIOn costs m accordance wIth the Employer's relocatIOn pohcy, or (b) employees may reject the change m headquarters locatIOn, m whIch case they wIll be gIven SIX (6) months' notIce of lay-off pursuant to ArtIcle 20 2 1 (NotIce and Pay m LIeu) and have full access to the prOVISIOns of ArtIcle 20 (Employment StabIhty) and AppendIx 9 (Employment StabIhty) of the Central CollectIve Agreement 3 If several employees hold the same posItIOn and fewer of theIr posItIOns are reqUIred m the new headquarters locatIOn, the employees wIth the greatest semonty wIll be gIven the opportumty to go to the new headquarters locatIOn first 4 It IS understood that when an employee accepts the change m headquarters locatIOn m accordance wIth tlllS Memorandum of Agreement, the prOVISIOns of ArtIcle 6 (Postmg and FIlhng of VacanCIes or New PosItIOns) shall not apply 6 Accordmgly, the home posItIOn of Mr Heathcote IS Ontano CorrectIOnal InstItute Dated m Toronto thIS 4th day of January, 2005 j II F ehcIty D Bnggs VIce-Chair