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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-0039.Burnett.82- -09IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRBTIGN Under THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGdIXIhG ACT Before THE CRIEV;li;CE SETTLESIEXT XXRD Between: Before: OPSEU (Olga Burnett) Griever - And - The Crown in Right of Ontario (Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations) Employer Prof. J.W, Samuels Vice Chairman Air. R. Russell Member Nr. D.B. Xiddleton h!ember For the Grievor: &ix-. G. Richards Grievance/Classification Officer Ontario Public Service Empiovees Union For the Employer: Mr. J. J. O'Shea Staff Relations Adminisxracor LIinistry of Consumer and Commercial Relations Hearing: May 26, 19S2 - 2 - The grievor claims that she was improperly classi- fied as a Secretary 3 from December 28, 1979 to March 8, 1982, and that she should have been classified and paid as a Secretary 4. The facts in this matter are as follows: 1~. The qrievor came to the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations in June 1976, following her success in a competition for a Clerical Stenographer 3 (the qrievor suggested that the position ~was advertised as a Secretary 3, but I accept the evidence of Mrs. L. Bowden of the Personnel Services Branch that the position was one of a Clerical Stenographer) : She commenced working for one of the legal counsel, Mr. R. Hendrie. 2.' From 1977, there were two lawyers in the office in which the grievor worked -- Mr. Hendrie, and Mr. J.C. Barrows. Each man had his ownsecretary. The two counsel, and Mr. Barrows' secretary were in the employ of the Attorney- General; while the grievor was in the-employ of the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations. There is no point in trying to understand or explain this working situation. 3. In 1977, the then secretary to Mr. Barrows was reclassified as a Secretary 4. The grievor complained in- formally about this, because she felt that she did the same work as .$he other secretary. In 1979, this other person left fox a higher job, and the qrievor entered the competi- tion for the Secretary 4 position with Mr. 3arrows. She wzs unsuccessful. -3- 4. The successful candidate was a Daphne Gillespie, who transferred laterally from another Secretary 4 position, She was secretary to Mr. Barrows until her death in December 1981. 5. In December 1979, in response to the griever's complaints, her position was reevaluated and she was moved to a Secretary 3. This classification carried the same salary as the Clerical Stenographer 3. The griever thought that she had always been a Secretary 3, and told the Person- nel Services Branch as much. She asked to be eievated to a Secretary 4. 6. The grievance was filed on October 8, ,198l. I 7. In December 1981, the Personnel Services Rranch arranged for an audit of both secretarial jobs. The grievor would be audited by the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations, and Daphne Gillespie would be audited by the Attorney-General. After the audits, the evaluations would be exchanged and each Ministry would recommend the classi- fication for the other's position. ' Tn the result, both Ministries agreed in the classification of Gillespie's job ' as a Secretary 4, and the griever's as a Secretary 3. Mrs. Bowden conducted the audit of the grievor, and she sat in on the lengthy interview part of the audit of Gillespie. The auditors spoke with Daphne Gillespie and E!r. Barrows. With respect to the griever's position, I accept the evidence of Mrs. Bowden that Shea observed the grievor at work for some 6 hours, and asked many questions about the job -- where did the work come from, what did she do, where did the work go, -4- what was the nature o,f the direction and supervision she received. It is necessary to note that, after hearing the evidence of Mrs. Bowden, I was left with the clear impres- sion that the audit was a very thorough af'fair, and that MIS. Bowden had a very good idea of the two jobs. 8. The evaluations were .sent to the two supervisors, Messrs. Barrows and Hendrie, who each confirmed the tasks of his own secretary. 9. The griever's duties and responsibilities were described in the Position Specification as follows: "I. Acts as secretary by:- transcribing from dictaphone or hand- written notes, letters, memorandum, drafts, reports, cabinet submissions, Regulations, Orders-in-Council, insur- 80% ante opinions, (some items are prepared for the Minister's or Branch Director's signature), notices, summonses, expense requisition forms and other documents relating to administrative hearings. assisting in arranging meetings by typing related correspondence and en- suring that all related individuals are notified of the scheduled meetings. 2. Performs clerical duties such as:- maintaining a file system for the soli- citor by opening new files, bringing to his attention specific .files on appropriate date. filing correspondence in Division files. receiving incoming mail and passing to supervisor. 15% providing photocopies of necessary items as required. collating and assembling information packages. acts as receptionist by receiving visitors, answering the telephone and directing individuals to the appropriate person. -5- 3. Other Duties:- checking diary of boardroom schedule and ensuring that bo,ardrooms are prepared for meetings. 5% other duties as assigned. n This is a fair description of the grievor's job. 10. Daphne Gillespie's duties and responsibilities were described in the Position Specification as follows: ., II 1. Provides legal secretarial services by: 75% transcribing from shorthand and/or dictaphone or longhand notes, and editing for syntax, a wide variety of correspondence and confidential material pertaining to legal matters in the financial Institutions Division: typing and amending for accuracy and format, policy submissions legal opin- ions, recommendations to Council, in- formation sheets, letters memoranda etc., (some items are prepared for Minister's and Executive Director's signature); absorbing the substance of the material to apply such knowledge in other functions and tasks: reviewing all submission etc. prior to distribution to ensure documents are complete: pre-screening all incoming correspon- dence and legal documents for entire section: recording registered mail; answering routine correspondence by com- posing on own initiative,'or from brief verbal instructions, signing letters if so instructed; keening informed of whereabouts of solicitor at all times in case of emer- 9ency; answering telephone enquiries using acquired knowledge, reviewing text of Acts (15 pertinent Acts) and exercising judgement to determine required response or referral to supervisor; making and checking arrangements for solicitor from knowledge of engagements, confirming and notifying appropriate parties; advising solicitor of time of appoint- ments, place and those attendinq. -6- 2. Performs related clerical and administrative duties, such as: 25% annotating and consolidating Orders-in- Council, regulations and Statute or easy access; updating law Citators and loose leaf services, removing old pages. and inserting new; establishing and maintaining a filing system (alphabetized - subject listing): maintaining a flow chart indicating; status and progress of pending Division/Mini- stry Acts etc., and other Bills etc;, from first reading through Royal Assent (reviewing Hansard); maintaining attendance records (3 per- sons) ; photocopying, collating and distributing material as required; acts as receptionist by receiving visitors, answering the telephone and directing individuals to the appropriate person: researchin,g information required by solicitor from other divisions (as required) ; as assigned!' This appears to be a fair description of Gillespie's job. 11. The Preamble to the Class Standard provides as follows with respect to the Secretarial Series: 'This series covers positions of Secretaries to one or more administrative officials. Recep- tionist duties, personal contact work and re- lieving the supervisor of administrative routines are characteristic of these.positions. Some clerical functions, e.g. minor record-keeping, checking expense claims, processing mail and filing are commonly found as incidental duties. However, where the clerical work is substantial and present to a significant degree, the position should be assessed against the Clerical Stenographer or Clerical Typist Series. Although elements of supervisory responsibility are mentioned at the 4 and 5 levels, if' such a responsibility is a sign!-, ficant and important part of the position, it should be assessed against standards within other series. Ability to type at Civil Service.Commission standards is a requirement for secretarial positions. Dictation is taken by shorthand, speed writlnq and/or dictaphone. Allocation of individual positions to the various levels within this series -7- is based on an assessment of the judgement and initiative required as indicated by the degree of delegation in such areas as: composing correspon- dence, dealing with enquiries, arranging appoint- ments, and exercising judgement in handling mat- ters during the supervisor's absence. In addition to the foregoing elements, the nature of frequent and substantial senior level contacts is an im- portant allocation factor at the 5 level." 12. The Class Standard for Secretary 3 is as foliows: "Employees in positions allocated to this class work under general supervision and are expected to use some initiative referring to their supervisor only those matters which cannot be dealt with on the basis of standard procedures or established routines. These employees take dictation by shorthand or speed-writing and/or dictaphone and transcribe a,variety of letters, reports and memoranda using some judgement regarding layout. They.may also copy-type from material supplied. They compose correspondence requiring the provision of factual answers or information in response to enquiries on the basis of brief written or oral instructions or as part of an established routine. They decide format and layout and check their own work for mechanical accuracy. Their work may be spot- checked for content and grammar. They may open and distribute incoming mail and attach appropriate files to individuai letters before passing them,to their supervisor. They answer the telephone and screen calls, referring them to their supervisor when necessary. They also receive visitors, dealing with the more routine enquiries themselves and arrange appoint- ments usually after consulting their supervisor. Other duties include gathering information for the supervisor, maintaining a small filing system, making travel arrangements and hotel reservations for the supervisor, placing long distance tele- phone calls and operating simple duplicating equipment." 13. The Class Standard for Secretary 4 provides: "Employees in positions allocated to this class receive a minimum of supervision, are ex- pected to often use initiative in dealing with matters not covered by standard procedures or established uractices, and maintain normal office routines during the supervisor's absence. -s- When taking dictation by shorthand or speed- writing and/or dictaphone, they are required to '. absorb the substance of the dictated matter and apply this knowledge in independently answering enquiries. They open and distribute incoming mail, re- tain routine matters for their own attention and action, and attach appropriate files, previous correspondence and related material to the mail forwarded to the supervisor. They typically have contact with professional members of the public, visiting dignitaries and occasional contacts with senior representatives and executives of organisa- tions, dealing with the majority of enquiries themselves by providing factual information re- lating to the activities, structure and programs of the organization. They arrange appointments based on their knowledge of their supervisor's schedule and commitments, normally without prior consultation and arrange meetings as assigned. They set up and maintain filing systems'and perform incidental clerical duties such as checking expense accounts and posting information to basic records. They may assign and check the work of clerical and/or stenographic .staff." 14. The reason for the difference in classification appears to be the difference in working habits of Messrs. Barrows and Hendrie. While Mr. Barrows would delegate some matters to Daphne Gillespie (for example, telling her to draft and send a letter on a particular subject), Mr. Hendrie is a very careful man who prefers to dictate everything himself, and relies on his secretary only to transcribe it accurately and neatly. Another example would be in the area of "research" - it appears that Gillespie would go to other divisions to look up things herself, while the grievor might go elsewhere to find something with very specific instruc- tions from Mr. Eendrie. The fundamental point here is that Ml-. Hendrie exercised much more control over the grievor than did Mr. Barrows over Daphne Gillespie. This is not to say that the grievor could not have undertaken more re- sponsibility. But Mr. Hendrie preferred that she follow his instructions. 15. The grievor transferred to another Secretary 3 position on March 8, 1982. Her claim relates to the period after December 1979, when she put her employer "on notice" that she was unhappy with her classification, because she felt she did the same work as the secretary to Mr. Barrows. The claim would run to March 8, 1982. What do we conclude from all of th is? The Class Standard, in the Preamble and in the specific provision, shows that the essential difference be- tween a Secretary 3 and a Secretary 4 is the degree of in- dividual initiative shown by the employee~in actual practice in the job. Whereas the 3 exercises initiative where there are standard procedures or established routines, the 4 will use initiative in dealing with ma'& Leers not covered by stan- I dard procedures or established practices. The evidence shows clearly that this difference did exist between the two jobs in question. Daphne Gillespie would draft letters not covered by standard procedures, the grievor never did this because Mr. Hendrie would not let her do it. Indeed,. Gillespie would keep some in-coming mail for her own reply. The grievor never did this. The 3 will arrange appointments for her supervisor after consulting \ - 10 - with him, the 4 will make a?pointmentS on her own for the super- visor, because she knows her supervisor's schedule. This is precisely what occurred in the office -- Daphne Gillespie made arrangements for Mr. Barrows, Mr. Hendrie makes his own appointments. The 3 will maintain a filing system, the 4 will set one up -- and this occurred in the office. Daphne Gillespie made a major rearrangement of the files in Mr. Barrows' office, while the grievor was confined to main- taining the files for Mr. Hendrie and adding new file- folders. In response to telephone enquiries, the grievor usually confined herself to taking messages, unless it was a matter of redirecting the caller. Daphne Gillespie would give answers on some matters. In sum, I find that the .evidence at our hearing confirms the job descriptions set out in the Position Specifications, and that the positions as described are properly classified. Much of this finding is based on the confidence I have in the job audits described by Mrs. Bowden -- they were thorough~ and appropriate. The griever's perception that she did the same work as Daphne Giliespie is incorrect. While the office was a small one, and the ranks of the two solicitors appears to have been the same, the two secretaries did different jobs because of the different work habits of the two solicitors. A job is classified according to the duties and responsibilities of the incumbent, not according to the potential abilities of the incumbent. If - 11 - an employee is working for someone who prefers not to permit the employee to exercise a great deal of initiative, then the classification will reflect this reduced initiative, even if the employee is capable of 'doing more. For these reasons, the grievance is dismissed. . day of-~~:,-=-.+-+- , 1982. \ _ _,/ ” ! ., ;i i I._ ; : 1 ‘.;,~:-_~~-..l~~X--s -<- J.W. ,$amuels, Vice-Chairman .-...: R. Russell. Member D.B. biiddleton, Member 1. Class Sta_ndard: Preamble 2. Class Standard: Secretary 3 3. Class Standard: Secretary 4 4. Position Specification: Legal Secretary (1977) 5. Memo of December 28, 1979, to qrievor 6. Position Specification: Secretary (1979) 7. ldem (1981) 8. Position Specification: Legal Secretary (1981) ' -12-, LIST OF ZXHIBITS , I