Gail Misra

The grievor, a Recreation Officer, alleged the Employer breached the collective agreement by assigning him an incorrect anniversary date, thereby delaying his merit increases.

The grievor claimed his anniversary date should have been April 1, when he first transferred to the institution, rather than September 1.

The Arbitrator found that the grievor had initially transferred as a Correctional Officer and was subsequently placed on an administrative suspension, during which he was paid at the higher Correctional Officer rate.

Because he did not begin working in the lower-paid Recreation Officer position until his suspension was lifted in late August, the Employer correctly set his anniversary date to September 1 in accordance with its standard practice.

The grievance was dismissed.

The grievor, a fixed-term Correctional Officer, took a one-year temporary assignment as a Probation Officer.

The Temporary Assignment Agreement (TAA) stipulated that upon return to his home position, he would be paid at the salary he would have attained had the assignment not occurred.

Upon his return, the Employer reverted his wage rate to the minimum level for his home position, arguing that as a fixed-term employee, he was not eligible for a TAA under its policies.

The Arbitrator upheld the grievance, finding that the Employer's managers had executed the TAA and the Employer was bound by it.

The Employer was directed to compensate the grievor for lost wages and benefits.

The Union filed a policy grievance alleging the Employer violated the collective agreement and various Memoranda of Agreement regarding the rollover of fixed-term correctional officers to classified service at the Kenora Jail.

The dispute centered on whether officers who accepted temporary transfers to the Kenora Jail and later transferred permanently were immediately eligible for rollover, or if they had to wait one year from the date of their permanent transfer.

The Arbitrator held that the overarching October 16, 2018 MOA governed, meaning a fixed-term correctional officer must be employed at the specific institution for a minimum of one year before becoming eligible for a rollover expression of interest.

The grievance was granted.

The union filed a grievance in 2001 alleging the employer incorrectly calculated the grievor's Continuous Service Date (CSD).

Because of this error, the grievor was incorrectly declared surplus and redeployed to a different facility further from his home in 2002.

The grievance languished for years before being addressed at the MERC Transition Committee.

The employer eventually conceded the CSD was incorrect but disputed the damages claimed ($125,852.23) and argued the union delayed the process and the grievor failed to mitigate his losses.

The arbitrator found the employer was responsible for the incorrect reassignment and awarded the grievor $10,000 in general damages for the significant disruption suffered.

The union filed a grievance on behalf of an employee whose application for the Transition Exit Initiative (TEI) was denied by the employer.

The union argued the denial was arbitrary and violated the collective agreement.

The arbitrator found that the employer did not act arbitrarily, as there was no need for staffing reductions at the employee's specific office at the time of the application.

The grievance was dismissed.

The union filed a grievance on behalf of a Corrections Officer who claimed he was not awarded 40 hours of seniority for a specific week despite working and being paid for those hours.

The employer reviewed the records, conceded an error had been made, and amended the grievor's seniority hours calculation to reflect the addition of the 40 hours.

As the issue was resolved, the arbitrator dismissed the grievance as moot.

The grievor, a fixed-term contract records clerk, filed a grievance after being unsuccessful in a job competition for an Inmate Records Clerk position.

The union argued the employer should have abided by a new rollover process outlined in a Letter of Understanding.

The arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding that because the parties had not yet reached a Memorandum of Agreement to implement the new process at the time of the job posting, the employer was within its management rights to conduct the job competition in the normal course.

The union sought an adjournment sine die and an indefinite extension for the provision of documents and particulars regarding two grievances (failure to accommodate and termination for excessive absenteeism).

The employer brought a motion to dismiss the grievances due to the grievor's repeated failure to comply with Board orders to produce medical documents and her failure to attend hearings.

The arbitrator found that the grievor's medical notes were inadequate to justify the delays and that the employer was suffering significant prejudice due to the passage of time.

The arbitrator denied the union's request for an adjournment sine die and granted the employer's motion to dismiss the grievances.

The Grievor, a Correctional Officer, requested a day of compassionate leave after his vehicle was severely vandalized the night before his scheduled 12-hour shift.

The Employer denied the request, arguing the Grievor should have arranged a shift exchange or taken public transit.

The Arbitrator found the Employer breached the collective agreement by failing to genuinely exercise its discretion, as it rigidly applied a requirement for an alternate plan without considering the late hour and specific circumstances.

The grievance was upheld and the Employer was directed to grant the compassionate leave day.

The grievor, a Correctional Officer, received a Letter of Reprimand for engaging in disrespectful and unprofessional conduct, including yelling and using profanities, towards a Sergeant after receiving a parking ticket.

The union grieved the discipline.

The arbitrator found that the grievor was visibly upset and behaved unprofessionally in the workplace.

The grievance was dismissed, and the Letter of Reprimand was upheld as being issued with just cause.

The grievor, a fixed-term correctional officer, requested three days of paid compassionate leave under Article 49 of the collective agreement to support his spouse during a prolonged labour and childbirth.

The Employer denied the paid leave, granting unpaid leave instead, on the basis that childbirth is an anticipated life event for which employees should plan.

The Grievance Settlement Board dismissed the grievance, finding that the Employer reasonably exercised its discretion under Article 49, which provides that the Employer 'may' grant such leave, and that the grievor was not entitled to paid compassionate leave as of right for a normal life event.

The union filed a grievance on behalf of a bailiff whose position was eliminated when the employer disbanded the Offender Transportation Department and reassigned the duties to correctional officers.

The employer had provided notice of the realignment and the parties had negotiated a Memorandum of Agreement to manage the transition of affected employees.

The arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding that the employer acted within its management rights to realign work for business needs, the decision was not arbitrary, and the grievor received the enhanced entitlements negotiated in the Memorandum of Agreement.

The grievor, a Provincial Bailiff, filed a grievance alleging the Employer violated the collective agreement by arbitrarily disbanding the Offender Transportation Department and transferring duties to Correctional Officers.

The Employer had provided notice of the realignment to suit business needs and negotiated a Memorandum of Agreement with the Union to minimize impacts on affected employees, including the grievor.

The Arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding the Employer acted within its management rights to realign work and reporting relationships, and there was no evidence the decision was arbitrary.

The union filed a grievance on behalf of a fixed-term correctional officer seeking conversion to regular status as an Industrial Officer.

The collective agreement required an employee to perform the same work in a fixed-term capacity for at least 18 months before conversion could occur.

The arbitrator found that the grievor had only worked in the temporary assignment for 16 months before returning to his regular position, and had not filed the grievance while in the temporary position.

The grievance was dismissed.

The Union filed grievances alleging the Employer violated the collective agreement and Compressed Work Week Agreements by requiring correctional officers to attend mandatory training on their regular days off (RDOs) and paying them at straight time rates.

The Arbitrator found that mandatory training constitutes work time.

The Employer breached the collective agreement by failing to provide two consecutive days off and by failing to pay overtime rates for work performed on scheduled days off.

The grievances were upheld, and the Employer was directed to compensate affected employees.

The grievor, a Correctional Officer, filed a grievance claiming his Continuous Service Date (CSD) was incorrectly calculated because it did not include 13 seasons he worked as a seasonal Forest Fire Fighter for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

The Grievance Settlement Board found that under the collective agreement, fixed-term seniority is calculated back to the first break in employment greater than 13 weeks.

Because the grievor had no break greater than 13 weeks in 2003 before starting as a Correctional Officer, his hours for that year must be counted.

However, previous years could not be counted due to breaks in service greater than 13 weeks.

The grievance was upheld in part.

The grievor, a fixed-term correctional officer, filed a grievance claiming the employer violated the collective agreement by not counting hours he worked as a seasonal worker at another ministry towards his continuous service date.

The arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding that under the collective agreement, the grievor had a break in service of greater than 13 weeks before commencing his current position, and therefore was not entitled to have his prior seasonal hours counted.

The union filed a grievance on behalf of a Fixed Term Correctional Officer, claiming the employer violated the collective agreement by not counting his prior hours worked as a seasonal worker at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry towards his Continuous Service Date.

The arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding that the grievor had a break in service of greater than 13 weeks before commencing his position as a Correctional Officer, which under the collective agreement precluded those prior hours from being counted.

The grievor, a Probation Officer, alleged the Employer acted in bad faith and discriminated against him on the basis of age when it denied his request for a Transition Exit Initiative (TEI).

The grievor claimed the Employer denied his request because he was eligible to retire, and instead transferred two junior employees to fill vacancies in another office.

The Grievance Settlement Board found that the two junior employees had applied for and been granted TEIs before the grievor applied, creating the vacancies.

The Employer acted within its management rights to transfer the junior employees to achieve its required reduction in positions.

The grievance was dismissed as there was no breach of the collective agreement or the Human Rights Code.

The union filed a grievance on behalf of a fixed-term correctional officer, alleging he was improperly bypassed for a rollover to a full-time permanent position.

The arbitrator found that the grievor did not meet the threshold qualification of having worked as a fixed-term correctional officer for a minimum of one year immediately preceding the posting, as he had been on a secondment as an industrial officer at another facility.

The grievance was dismissed.