Dr. Wayne Lewchuk

The union filed a grievance alleging that the employer violated Article 9.1 of the collective agreement by failing to make reasonable provisions for the health and safety of employees at the Toronto Jail.

The union argued that inmate overcrowding and staff shortages led to excessive overtime, which created health and safety risks, including job strain and effort-reward imbalance.

The arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding that the union's expert evidence on job strain was unreliable due to potential selection and reporting biases.

The arbitrator also concluded that the literature did not support a causal relationship between long work hours and adverse health outcomes, and that the employer's reliance on voluntary overtime did not constitute a failure to make reasonable provisions for health and safety.

In an ongoing union grievance alleging that the employer's reorganization of work in ODSP offices violated the collective agreement by increasing employee stress and health risks, the union called an expert witness.

Following the expert's testimony, the union requested case management to expedite the complex hearing.

The Grievance Settlement Board directed the employer to provide particulars of its position on the expert's report and scheduled the next hearing day for mediation, requiring persons with settlement authority to attend.