Ontario Public Service Employees Union (Stairs) v. The Crown in Right of Ontario (Ministry of the Solicitor General), 2023 CanLII 37579

GSB# 2022-11549

UNION# 2022-0234-4813

IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION

Under

THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT

Before

THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD

BETWEEN

Ontario Public Service Employees Union (Stairs)

Union

• and -

The Crown in Right of Ontario (Ministry of the Solicitor General)

Employer

BEFORE

Deborah Leighton

Arbitrator

FOR THE UNION

Dan Sidsworth Ontario Public Service Employees Union Grievance Officer

FOR THE EMPLOYER

Hiona Murray Treasury Board Secretariat Employee Relations Advisor

HEARING

March 7, 2023

Decision

1Ms. Brittany Stairs, a Correctional Officer at the Vanier Centre for Women, filed a grievance on December 6, 2022, alleging that the employer breached the collective agreement when it issued a three day disciplinary suspension because she called in sick for a shift on February 20, 2022. The grievor seeks repayment of the 24 hours of lost wages. The employer maintains that it had just cause to issue the discipline because the grievor was not ill on February 20, 2022, and therefore there has been no breach of the collective agreement.

2The parties referred this grievance to mediation/arbitration in accordance with Article 22.16 of the collective agreement. At the outset of the hearing, the parties agreed that I had the jurisdiction to deal with this matter. They asked that I issue a decision without precedential value and without written reasons.

3Having carefully considered the submissions of the parties on the allegations of the breach of the grievor’s rights and the jurisprudence of the Board, I find that discipline was warranted, and a three day suspension was appropriate in the circumstances. Consequently, the grievance is dismissed.