Naresh C. Agarwal

The grievor, a Human Resources Consultant, took a two-year leave of absence to avoid being declared surplus during a downsizing and to reach ten years of continuous service for retirement benefits.

During his leave, several vacancies arose and were filled through open competitions.

The grievor filed a grievance claiming he should have been considered for direct assignment to these positions or, alternatively, that the employer had a duty to inform him of the vacancies and his options.

The Public Service Grievance Board dismissed the grievance, finding that the grievor was not a surplus employee while on leave and therefore had no right to direct assignment.

The Board also found no breach of any duty to inform, as the grievor had made incorrect assumptions about his status and failed to maintain contact with the employer to seek advice.

The grievors, who are operational managers, sought the same pay and shift premium increases granted to bargaining unit employees under a newly negotiated collective agreement.

The employer objected to the Board's jurisdiction to apply collective agreement terms to non-bargaining unit staff.

The Board found that the terms and conditions of employment for operational managers are set by employer policy and regulation under the Public Service Act, not by the collective agreement.

Relying on previous decisions, the Board concluded it lacked jurisdiction to grant the requested relief and dismissed the grievance without a hearing.

The grievors, operational managers at a correctional facility, filed grievances seeking the same pay and benefit increases granted to bargaining unit employees under a newly negotiated collective agreement.

The employer objected to the Board's jurisdiction.

The Board found that the terms and conditions of employment for operational managers are set by employer policy and regulation under the Public Service Act, not by collective agreement.

Following previous decisions, the Board concluded it lacked jurisdiction to apply collective agreement provisions to management staff and dismissed the grievances without a hearing.

The grievors, operational managers on a compressed work week, sought retroactive compensation for statutory holidays falling on regular days off, claiming entitlement to the same retroactivity granted to bargaining unit employees.

The employer raised preliminary objections regarding timeliness and res judicata based on prior Board decisions.

The Public Service Grievance Board dismissed the grievances, finding they were filed beyond the 14-day limit under Regulation 977 of the Public Service Act without justifiable reason for delay.

Furthermore, the Board agreed with prior decisions that operational managers were not covered by the collective agreement and had no independent entitlement to the earlier retroactivity date.