GSB#2007-1072, 2010-2638

UNION#2007-0234-0084, 2011-0719-0003

IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION

Under

THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT

Before

THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD

BETWEEN

Ontario Public Service Employees Union (Dorion)

Union

• and -

The Crown in Right of Ontario (Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services)

Employer

BEFORE

Felicity D. Briggs

Vice-Chair

FOR THE UNION

Nick Mustari Ontario Public Service Employees Union Grievance Officer

FOR THE EMPLOYER

Greg Gledhill Ministry of Government Services Centre for Employee Relations Employee Relations Advisor

HEARING

September 17, 2013

Decision

1Since the spring of 2000 the parties have been meeting regularly to address matters of mutual interest which have arisen as the result of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services as well as the Ministry of Children and Youth Services restructuring initiatives around the Province. Through the MERC (Ministry Employment Relations Committee) a subcommittee was established to deal with issues arising from the transition process. The parties have negotiated a series of MERC agreements setting out the process for how organizational changes will unfold for Correctional and Youth Services staff and for non Correctional and non Youth Services staff.

2The parties agreed that this Board would remain seized of all issues that arise through this process and it is this agreement that provides me the jurisdiction to resolve the outstanding matters.

3Over the years as some institutions and/or youth centres decommissioned or reduced in size others were built or expanded. The parties have made efforts to identify vacancies and positions and the procedures for the filling of those positions as they become available.

4The parties have also negotiated a number of agreements that provide for the "roll-over" of fixed term staff to regular (classified) employee status.

5Hundreds of grievances have been filed as the result of the many changes that have taken place at provincial institutions. The transition subcommittee has, with the assistance of this Board, mediated numerous disputes. Others have come before this Board for disposition.

6It was determined by this Board at the outset that the process for this disputes would be somewhat more expedient. To that end, grievances are presented by way of statements of fact and succinct submissions. On occasion clarification has been sought from grievors and institutional managers at the request of the Board. This process has served the parties well. The decisions are without prejudice but attempt to provide guidance for future disputes.

7Selena Valenta is a classified Correctional Officer working at the Kenora Jail. Stacey Dorion is a Correctional Officer working at Maplehurst Correctional Complex. Both filed grievances that allege the Employer has violated the Collective Agreement by failing to include hours they worked at Central North Correctional Centre in the calculation of their continuous service date.

8The facts are not in dispute. Both grievors worked at CNCC while it was privately operated by MTC. In each case, the grievor resigned their employment with MTC to work as Correctional Officers at the Kenora Jail or Maplehurst Correctional Complex. Neither was working at CNCC at the time it was brought under the umbrella of the Ontario Public Service.

9It was the position of the grievors that the hours worked at MTC as a Correctional Officer ought to be included for the purposes of determining their continuous service date. The Employer submitted that MTC was a private company and therefore all of the hours worked for MTC were outside of the Ontario Public Service. Accordingly the hours cannot be included in the grievors' continuous service dates.

10I must agree with the Employer. This Board dealt with similar grievances in Re Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services and OPSEU (Bahlieda et al) GSB#2003-3837. In that matter I found that the grievors, who had once worked for the Ministry, resigned and went to work for MTC were not Ontario Public Service employees while working for MTC in 2003. It was stated on page 5:

…..CNCC is not operated by the Ontario government. Employees of CNCC are not members of the Ontario Public Service.

11One of the grievors was of the view that the time worked for MTC was as a "contract employee for the Ontario Public Service with the Ministry of Correctional Services". That is not correct. The time periods at issue were, for both grievors, time worked for another employer and therefore not eligible for consideration in the determination of continuous service dates. The grievances are denied.