GSB# 2024-01667; 2024-01668; 2024-01669

UNION# 2024-0252-0026; 2024-0252-0027; 2024-0252-0028

IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION

Under

THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT

Before

THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD

BETWEEN

Ontario Public Service Employees Union (Bolduc et al)

Union

• and -

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

Employer

BEFORE

Dale Hewat

Arbitrator

FOR THE UNION

Dan Sidsworth Ontario Public Service Employees Union Grievance Officer

FOR THE EMPLOYER

Michelle LaButte Ministry of the Solicitor General Labour Strategy & Employee Transition Manager

David Marincola Treasury Board Secretariat Employee Relations & Negotiations Employee Relations Advisor

HEARING

December 10, 2025

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 the Solicitor General as well as the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services restructuring initiatives around the Province. Through the MERC (Ministry Employee 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 these 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.

7Paul Bolduc, Glen Potoma and Geoff Winterbottom ("The Grievors"), filed grievances challenging the calculation of their Continuous Service Dates ("CSD"). The Grievors seek to have the calculation of their CSDs reviewed retroactively to include all weeks where less than 40 hours were worked. Specifically, the Grievances state that between December 2016 and August 2020 the Employer failed to include any weeks worked with less than 40 hours worked in the calculation of their CSDs. All of the Grievors were rolled over to full-time employment in December 2016 but they have CSD dates at various dates within 2018.

8Prior to 2018, the calculation of CSD was based on a work week of 40 straight time hours. Work weeks that were less than 40 hours were not included in the CSD calculation. Changes to the Collective Agreement regarding CSDs were negotiated in 2018, such that, for Fixed-Term correctional officers, all straight time hours worked were included in the calculation of CSDs. The Parties agreed that the new formula for determining CSDs was not retroactive, as noted in OPSEU (Coffin et al) v. Ontario (Solicitor General), 2025 CanLII 65288 (ON GSB).

9The Grievors all rolled over from Fixed-Term positions to permanent full-time positions in December 2016. They all have CSD dates that were calculated at the time they rolled over, and there is no basis to apply the changes made to the Collective Agreement in 2018 regarding the formula used to calculate hours for Fixed-Term staff to the Grievors. As a result, the grievances are dismissed.