GSB# 2004-0607, 2004-3369, 2005-1898, 2005-1899, 2005-1939, 2005-2906, 2005-2907, 2005-2908
UNION# 2004-0636-0006, 2004-0636-0008, 2005-0636-0014, 2005-0636-0015, 2005-0636-0022, 2005-0636-0047, 2005-0636-0048, 2005-0636-0049
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
Ontario Public Service Employees Union (Cartier)
Union
- and -
The Crown in Right of Ontario (Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care)
Employer
BEFORE
Barry Stephens
Vice-Chair
FOR THE UNION
Will Presley Grievance Officer Ontario Public Service Employees Union
FOR THE EMPLOYER
Len Hatzis Counsel Ministry of Government Services
HEARING
October 31, 2005.
Decision
At the beginning of the hearing on October 31, 2005, the employer proposed that a number of grievances filed by the same grievor should be consolidated before this board. After hearing arguments from the parties on the issue, I made an oral ruling on the motion, which I undertook to provide in writing as soon as possible. This decision deals solely with the employer’s motion for consolidation.
The employer seeks to have a total of eight grievances filed by Ms. Cartier consolidated before this board. Two of the eight have already been assigned to the board, and they are:
GSB File No. 2004-0607 - Dated Feb 17, 2004 – Re shift scheduling
GSB File No. 2004-3369 - Dated November 18, 2004 – Re WDHP
The employer seeks to add the following six grievances:
OPSEU File No 2005-0636-0022 – Dated May 4, 2005 – Re overtime
OPSEU File No. 2005-0636-0014 – Dated June 24, 2005 – Re harassment
OPSEU File No. 2005-0636-0015 – Dated June 24, 2005 - Re discipline
OPSEU File No. 2005-0636-0047 – Dated September 14, 2005 – Re violation of Article 3
OPSEU File No. 2005-0636-0048 – Dated September 14, 2005 – Re discipline
OPSEU File No. 2005-0636-0049 – Dated September 30, 2005 – Re documents not removed from file
For ease of reference, I refer to the grievances according to the number I have assigned above. The parties agreed that Grievances 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 were all related to the same originating incident, and were part of a continuation of a dispute with respect to the grievor’s competence and her allegations of improper treatment. Grievances 1, 3 and 8 are not related, but since Grievance 1 has already been assigned to the board, the employer requested that Grievances 3 and 8 be consolidated as well. The union opposed the request on the narrow technical grounds that some of the grievances had not yet been subject to mediation, while some had. The employer responded that it was prepared to mediate the grievances immediately if necessary.
Ruling
A vice chair has broad powers to consolidate grievances under the rules of procedure. Those powers should be used consistent with the collective agreement. The collective agreement states that grievances are to be resolved in an expeditious and informal manner. That means the board should utilize a procedure that avoids inefficient consequences, such as multiple hearings and inconsistent decisions. Applying these principles, I decided that the hearing should be adjourned in order to allow for an attempt to mediate the grievances. Failing resolution through mediation, all eight grievances would be consolidated to be heard according to the following process: Grievances 1, 3 and 8 would be placed in abeyance and the remaining grievances would be processed together and be heard first.
After making the ruling, the hearing adjourned and the parties engaged in mediation. The mediation was unsuccessful, and the matter is now being scheduled for arbitration. As a result, when we reconvene the hearing, the parties will be addressing Grievances 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 above. The union will first present its evidence with respect to the non-disciplinary grievances, after which the employer will then present its evidence with respect to all of the grievances. The union will then have an opportunity to present evidence in reply on the non-disciplinary grievances and its evidence for the disciplinary grievances. The employer will then have a right to reply on the disciplinary grievances. After the hearings with respect to Grievances 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 have been completed, we will proceed to mediate/arbitrate the remaining grievances.
Dated at Toronto, this 10th day of January, 2006.