OPSEU Members Petition for the Grievance Process 2012.

We the Employees of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Service grieve that the following agreed terms between the union (O.P.S.E.U.) and the Ministry are not being followed as per the mutually agreed upon terms as outlined in the Collective Agreement. To wit the terms specified are as follows:

TERMS OF REFERENCE
FOR THE
MINISTRY FILE REVIEW COMMITTEE
The parties agree to a pilot project of six (6) Ministry File Review Committees or such greater number as
agreed upon by the parties.
NAME OF COMMITTEE:
The Committee shall be referred to as the Ministry File Review Committee (MFRC).
TERM/TERMINATION:
The Committee shall be in place for the term of the collective agreement. During this trial period either
party may terminate the Committee upon 30 (thirty) days written notice to the other party.
A review of the Committee’s progress shall be presented to the MERC every six (6) months.
Each MFRC shall provide an annual review to CERC.
EVALUATION:
METRICS
The parties agree that the pilot will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:
• Increased early and local resolution of grievances
• Fewer mediations and hearing dates required at the GSB
• Greater clarity of issues proceeding to the GSB
MEASURES
The parties agree to use the following measures to track the success of the pilot:
• Percentage of grievances referred to the MFRC
• Percentage of grievances resolved by the MFRC
• Percentage of grievances referred back to the Local
• Percentage resolved by the Local
• Percentage unresolved by the Local
• Percentage of grievances referred from the MFRC to GSB
• Percentage resolved prior to hearing date
PURPOSE OF COMMITTEE:
The governing principle will be that the parties have a mutual interest in their own solutions and avoiding, if at all possible, having the decision made by an arbitrator.
The Union and the Employer agree that consultation and communication on matters of joint interest are desirable to promote constructive and harmonious labour relations. In this regard, a Ministry File Review Committee (MFRC) shall be established to deal with grievances in an effective and expeditious manner at the Ministry level.
 The purpose of the Committee is to establish and maintain:
A procedure for the prompt and equitable handling of grievances, with the exception of Appendix 9,
Appendix 18, classification, insured benefits, grievances related to sexual harassment and union grievances
under Article 22.13.2.
• A review of grievances, to recommend consolidation/grouping issues, disclosure issues, adjournment, etc., and the manner in which unresolved grievances proceeding to GSB should be addressed;
• A common Ministry list of grievances;
• To review outstanding grievances through the use of this sub-committee.
WITHOUT PREJUDICE AND WITHOUT PRECEDENT:
It is agreed that the discussions of the parties at the MFRC are without precedent or prejudice. Any MFRC discussions shall receive the same level of protection as any stage of the grievance process and such discussions shall not be admissible before any Board, Tribunal, Commission, etc.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND MEETINGS:
• The MFRC shall be composed of three (3) Union representatives including an OPSEU staff member and three (3) Management representatives including a representative from Employee Relations Division who will be identified by their respective MERC Co-chairs. Members of the committee who are the grievor or respondent on a particular grievance shall excuse themselves from participating in the review of that particular file.
• The MERC Union Co-Chair shall designate one member to act as Union Co-Chair of the MFRC.
The MERC Management Co-Chair shall designate one member to act as the Management Co-Chair of the MFRC
• The parties may invite other resources as deemed necessary.
• MFRC participants are entitled to time off to attend MFRC meetings with no loss of pay and no loss of credits. Reasonable travel time will be provided.
• The Union MFRC members shall receive four (4) hours of paid caucus or prep time, excluding time needed for housekeeping, or as such further time as the parties agree.
• The MFRC shall meet monthly, unless the MFRC Co-Chairs agree otherwise. Meetings will take place at a mutually convenient and accessible location and time as agreed upon by the MFRC Co-Chairs.
• In accordance with Article 22.14.5 of the Collective Agreement, full disclosure of all the facts, issues and relevant documents shall take place to facilitate the effective resolution of the grievances submitted to the MFRC.
• Each MFRC participant shall maintain the confidentiality of any discussions between the parties and any information shared, except as agreed to by the parties, or as required by law, or as required to implement a settlement/agreement.
• Individual grievors and local managers will not attend MFRC meetings, unless both MFRC Co-Chairs agree otherwise.
 ARTICLE 22 PROVISIONS – Grievance Procedure:
During this pilot project, the provisions of Article 22 (Grievance Procedure) will apply. In accordance with Article 22.14.3, the parties agree to the following additional procedures for the purposes of the pilot project:
1) If the grievor is not satisfied with the Stage 2 decision of the senior human resources representative, or his or her designee, or if he or she does not receive the decision within the specified time, the Union may submit the grievance to the MFRC within fifteen (15) days of the date the grievor received the decision or within 15 (fifteen) days of the specified time limit for receiving the decision.
2) Upon receipt of an MFRC referral, the Union Co-Chair shall contact the Management Co-Chair at the earliest convenience. The MFRC will have a period up to 45 (forty-five) calendar days from the date the grievance is filed with the Committee, to attempt to resolve the grievance. If the Committee is unable to resolve the grievance, the Committee shall discuss how the grievance shall proceed.
3) During the 45 (forty-five) calendar day resolution period, the MFRC will attempt to resolve the matters in dispute, which shall involve the individuals with authority to resolve the grievance.
4) By agreement of the MFRC Co-Chairs, the MFRC may refer a grievance back to the local level for resolution. In this case, the parties agree that a local rep and ministry/management rep may assist in the resolution of the grievance within 14 (fourteen) calendar days from the date of referral. If the issue remains unresolved, the matter shall be referred back to the MFRC. For clarity, any time the grievance is spent at the local level will create a hiatus in the 45 (forty-five) calendar day period the MFRC will have to attempt to resolve the grievance.
5) If the MFRC is unable to resolve a grievance, it shall be referred to the Grievance Settlement Board (GSB) for mediation/arbitration or arbitration.
6) The MFRC Co-Chairs agree that the time limits are extended per Article 22.14.3 for all grievances referred to MFRC. At any time either party may remove a grievance from MFRC, in these cases, or in the event that the MFRC can not resolve the grievance within the prescribed timelines, the Union shall have 15 (fifteen) days to file the grievance to the GSB per Article 22.4 of the Collective Agreement.
This agreement is not arbitrable.
Date this ________ day of ______________, 2008 at Toronto, Ontario.

Furthermore we the Employees of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services grieve that the scope and implementation of the grievance procedure as outlined in the collective agreement is not being followed. Namely timelines are not being carried out in a fair and equitable manner with many grievances being delayed and stalled for non-specific or unfounded reasons or cause. Such delays are placing grievors under unfair duress and undue stress as well as causing unfavourable working conditions that in some cases are later deemed to be unsafe to the workers. The process that should be followed as per the collective agreement is as follows:
 22.2.1 It is the mutual desire of the parties that complaints of employees be adjusted as quickly as possible and it is understood that if an employee has a complaint, the employee shall meet, where practical, and discuss it with the employee’s immediate supervisor within thirty (30) days after the circumstances giving rise to the complaint have occurred or have come or ought reasonably to have come to the attention of the employee in order to give the immediate supervisor an opportunity of adjusting the complaint.
22.2.2 If any complaint or difference is not satisfactorily settled by the supervisor within seven (7) days of the discussion and/or meeting, it may be processed within an additional ten (10) days in the following manner:
STAGE TWO
22.3.1 If the complaint or difference is not resolved under Stage One, the employee may file a grievance, in writing, through the Union, with their immediate supervisor who will in turn forward the grievance to the senior human resources representative for the ministry or his or her designee.
22.3.2 The senior human resources representative or his or her designee shall hold a meeting with the employee within fifteen (15) days of the receipt of the grievance and shall give the grievor his or her decision in writing within seven (7) days of the meeting with a copy to the Union steward.
22.4 If the grievor is not satisfied with the decision of the senior human resources representative or his or her designee or if he or she does not receive the decision within the specified time, the grievor may apply, through the Union, to the Grievance Settlement
Board (GSB) for a hearing of the grievance within fifteen (15) days of the date he or she received the decision or within fifteen
(15) days of the specified time limit for receiving the decision.
22.5 The employee, at his or her option, may be accompanied and represented by a Union representative at Stage Two of the grievance procedure.
22.6.1 An employee who is a grievor or complainant and who makes application, through the Union, for a hearing before the
GSB or the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) shall be allowed leave of absence with no loss of pay and with no loss of credits, if required to be in attendance by the Board or Tribunal. Article 22.6.1 shall also apply to pre-hearings, mediation/arbitration or mediation under auspices of the GSB or OLRB.
22.6.2 An employee who has a grievance and is required to attend meetings at Stage One and Two of the grievance procedure shall be given time off with no loss of pay and with no loss of credits to attend such meetings.
22.6.3 Article 22.6.2 shall also apply to the Union Steward who is authorized to represent the grievor at Stage Two of the grievance procedure.
 22.6.4 The Union shall advise the senior human resources representative for the affected ministries with copies to the Director, Centre for Employee Relations of the Union Stewards together with the areas they are authorized to represent, which list shall be updated at least every six (6) months. The ministry will advise the Union corporately when the senior human resources representative for the ministry changes.

Settlement desired: That the current grievance process be reviewed with the goal of establishing a fair and equitable means of establishing reasonable time lines for dealing with employee grievances. Further that current grievance matters be dealt with in an expedited way without further delay in order to prevent further harm to said grievors. All grievances that have been unfairly delayed be assessed for monetary compensation to paid to the grievors and which will be awarded upon the completion of said grievances being heard.