HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-0078.Brar.21-10-06 DecisionCrown Employees
Grievance
Settlement Board
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Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z8
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Commission de
règlement des griefs
des employés de la
Couronne
Bureau 600
180, rue Dundas Ouest
Toronto (Ontario) M5G 1Z8
Tél. : (416) 326-1388
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GSB# 2021-0078
UNION# 2021-0234-0020
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
(Brar) Union
- and -
The Crown in Right of Ontario
(Ministry of the Solicitor General) Employer
BEFORE
Gail Misra
Arbitrator
FOR THE UNION
Dan Sidsworth
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
Grievance Officer
FOR THE EMPLOYER
Michelle LaButte
Ministry of the Solicitor General
Manager, Employee Transition Unit
HEARING July 27, 2021 and October 4, 2021
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DECISION
[1] Since the spring of 2000 the parties have been meeting regularly to address matters
of mutual interest which have arisen as the result of the Ministry of Community
Safety and Correctional Services as well as the Ministry of Children and Youth
Services restructuring initiatives around the Province. Through the MERC (Ministry
Employment Relations Committee) a subcommittee was established to deal with
issues arising from the transition process. The parties have negotiated a series of
MERC agreements setting out the process for how organizational changes will
unfold for Correctional and Youth Services staff and for non-Correctional and non-
Youth Services staff.
[2] The parties agreed that this Board would remain seized of all issues that arise
through this process and it is this agreement that provides me the jurisdiction to
resolve the outstanding matters.
[3] Over the years as some institutions and/or youth centres decommissioned or
reduced in size others were built or expanded. The parties have made efforts to
identify vacancies and positions and the procedures for the filling of those positions
as they become available.
[4] The parties have also negotiated a number of agreements that provide for the “roll-
over” of fixed term staff to regular (classified) employee status.
[5] Hundreds of grievances have been filed as the result of the many changes that have
taken place at provincial institutions. The transition subcommittee has, with the
assistance of this Board, mediated numerous disputes. Others have come before
this Board for disposition.
[6] It was determined by this Board at the outset that the process for these disputes
would be somewhat more expedient. To that end, grievances are presented by way
of statements of fact and succinct submissions. On occasion, clarification has been
sought from grievors and institutional managers at the request of the Board. This
process has served the parties well. The decisions are without prejudice but attempt
to provide guidance for future disputes.
[7] Kamalveer Brar is a fixed term Correctional Officer at the Maplehurst Correctional
Complex (Maplehurst). He filed a grievance dated March 17, 2021 claiming that the
Employer has breached various provisions of the collective agreement by failing to
give him credit for all the time that he had worked at the Ontario Correctional Institute
(OCI).
[8] The grievor had been a Correctional Officer (CO) at OCI beginning on March 12,
2018. He requested a leave of absence, and when his request was denied, he
resigned from his employment at OCI on March 4, 2019. On October 7, 2020 he
became a fixed term CO at Maplehurst. Mr. Brar wishes to have his service at OCI
-3-
added to his current service at Maplehurst for the purpose of the calculation of his
total hours worked.
[9] When Mr. Brar resigned on March 4, 2019, that resulted in the termination of his
service pursuant to Article 18.4 of the collective agreement. Article 18.4 states that
“Continuous service shall be deemed to have terminated if: (a) an employee resigns
or retires;…”. In accordance with Article 18.4, the grievor’s resignation deems his
continuous service up to that point to have terminated.
[13] This issue has been determined by the Board on a number of occasions including
in the following decisions: OPSEU (Wiles) v. Ontario (MCSCS), GSB#2016-0300,
2016-0695, 2016-0696, December 6, 2016 (Briggs); OPSEU (Sutherland) v. Ontario
(MCSCS), GSB#2016-0461, September 11, 2017 (Briggs); and, OPSEU
(Bourgeois) v. Ontario (MCSCS), GSB#2017-0503, November 6, 2017 (Briggs).
Nothing on the facts before me in this case makes the grievor’s situation much
different from those cases. The resignation in 2019 caused a break in his service,
so any time that the grievor worked at OCI prior to his resignation cannot be counted
as part of his continuous service.
[14] Having considered the facts and submissions of the parties, and for the reasons
outlined above, this grievance is denied.
Dated at Toronto, Ontario this 6th day of October, 2021.
“Gail Misra”
_________________________
Gail Misra, Arbitrator