HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-1553.McLaughlin.19-03-06 DecisionCrown Employees
Grievance Settlement
Board
Suite 600
180 Dundas St. West
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z8
Tel. (416) 326-1388
Fax (416) 326-1396
Commission de
règlement des griefs
des employés de la
Couronne
Bureau 600
180, rue Dundas Ouest
Toronto (Ontario) M5G 1Z8
Tél. : (416) 326-1388
Téléc. : (416) 326-1396
GSB# 2018-1553
UNION# 2018-0368-0182
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
(McLaughlin) Union
- and -
The Crown in Right of Ontario
(Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services) Employer
BEFORE
Gail Misra
Arbitrator
FOR THE UNION
Dan Sidsworth
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
Grievance Officer
FOR THE EMPLOYER Samantha Gray
Treasury Board Secretariat
Employee Relations Advisor
HEARING February 25, 2019
-2-
DECISION
[1] The Employer and the Union at the Central East Correctional Centre agreed to
participate in mediation-arbitration in accordance with the Local Mediation-
Arbitration Protocol that has been negotiated by the parties. Should mediation
not result in resolution of a grievance, pursuant to the Protocol, they have agreed
to a mediation-arbitration process by which each party provides the Arbitrator
with their submissions setting out their respective facts and the authorities they
may be relying upon. This decision is issued in accordance with the Protocol and
with Article 22.16 of the collective agreement, so that it is without precedent or
prejudice to any other matters between the parties, and is issued without written
reasons.
[2] David McLaughlin is an electrician at the Central East Correctional Centre
(“CECC”) in Lindsay, Ontario. His grievance, dated June 22, 2018, states that an
electrician can operate and test a fire pump, but that this work is only being
assigned to plumbers and mechanics when there is a need for a call in. In
particular, the grievor states that on June 11 and June 21, 2018 an electrician
should have been called in to shut off a fire pump, and that he was available for
that call in work. He is seeking payment for a four-hour call in for the two dates.
[3] There is a sprinkler head in each cell in the CECC. If an inmate tampers with a
sprinkler head in a cell, an alarm goes off at Central Control, and someone from
the Maintenance department has to turn off and re-set the fire suppression
system.
[4] At the time period in question, the Employer had an established “Maintenance
Call-in Procedure” which outlined for various issues which of the maintenance
staff may be called in for work after hours. Staff are called in on a rotating basis
in order to ensure that all assigned staff receive equal opportunities for call ins.
[5] The Employer also had a “Critical Alarms – 123 Depicts Order of Call-In” sheet
that outlined for each type of alarm, who of the maintenance staff would be the
first called, second called, and third called. As an example, for a boiler alarm,
plumbers would be the first called in, mechanics would be the second called in,
and electricians would be the third called in. Thus, depending on the area of
expertise, one or another of the maintenance staff may be the first on the list,
followed by others who may have expertise in that area. At the time, electricians
were not listed as part of the Order of Call-In for the fire pumps. The order was
that plumbers were called in first, followed by mechanics. As such, following the
established protocol and practice at the institution, no electrician was called in on
the two dates in question.
[6] I am advised that since the filing of the grievance, the parties have agreed to add
electricians to the order of call-in for the fire pumps.
-3-
[7] Having considered carefully the submissions of the parties, I am of the view that
the Employer acted in accordance with the Maintenance Call-in Procedure and
the order of call-ins in place at the time, and as such, I hereby deny the
grievance.
Dated at Toronto, Ontario this 6th day of March, 2019.
“Gail Misra”
______________________
Gail Misra, Arbitrator