GSB#0687/00
UNION#00E533
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
(Gibbon)
Grievor
-and-
The Crown in Right of Ontario (Ministry of Correctional Services)
Employer
BEFORE Belinda Kirkwood Vice-Chair
FOR THE UNION Mary MacKinnon Bode and MacKinnon Barristers and Solicitors
FOR THE EMPLOYER Fateh Salim Counsel Management Board Secretariat
HEARING Jan. 30& 31, Nov. 6, 2001
TELECONFERENCES May 29, 2001; Jan. 17, 2002.
INTERIM DECISION
Background to Employer’s Preliminary Motion
The parties agreed that the following facts, as paraphrased were true for the purposes of hearing and deciding the employer’s preliminary motion.
On April 4, 2000, the grievor, Ms. Gibbon, who was a female correctional officer at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre was attacked by four female inmates while she was working in the C dorm of the institution.
The incident occurred at 8:50 p.m. while doing a routine check of the female cell and bed areas. This incident was subsequently investigated by both the Thunder Bay Police department and the Ministry’s Special Investigation Unit.
On or about April 10, 2000, an inspector from the Ministry of Labour visited the institution and advised the employer’s representatives that he had come to do a routine inspection of the institution pursuant to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
On or about April 11, 2000, the inspector again visited the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre. At that time, he met representatives of both the employer and the union and issued two employment orders against the employer.
The two Orders stated:
Pursuant to Subsection 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act the employer shall take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of the worker. The employer shall ensure that in the Young Offenders Unit of the above noted facility, a correctional officer remains in full view of another officer while conducting resident checks or performing other duties in the dormitories or other isolated areas. This currently is not the practice.
And
Pursuant