Ottawa Public Library Board v. The Ottawa-Carleton Public Employees Union, Local 503
PEHT Case No: 2717-12-PE
Ottawa Public Library Board, Applicant v The Ottawa-Carleton Public Employees Union, Local 503, Respondent
PEHT Case No: 3497-12-PE
Ottawa-Carleton Public Employees' Union (CUPE) Local 503, Applicant v City of Ottawa - Ottawa Public Library Board, Respondent
BEFORE: Patrick Kelly, Vice-Chair
DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL: July 15, 2015
Decision
[1]. These are applications under the Pay Equity Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.7, as amended.
[2]. Section 4.2(1) of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act permits a panel of one to decide this matter.
[3]. A final decision ("the Decision") in these matters issued on February 3, 2015. The Tribunal (differently constituted) made the following orders at paragraph 47 of the Decision:
- We order the OPL to:
i. pay the female job classes identified in the pay equity plan the same corresponding percentage wage increases that were awarded by the board of arbitration to the Inside/Outside bargaining unit for the years 2005, 2006 and 2008;
ii. provide the union with a list of all the current and former employees in the OPL unit, their addresses, and the calculations of their total pay equity adjustments for each of the periods covered in paragraph (i) above; and
iii. comply with subparagraphs (i) and (ii) above within 90 days of the date of this decision.
[4]. The Tribunal is in receipt of correspondence dated July 6, 2015 from counsel for Ottawa-Carleton Public Employees' Union (CUPE), Local 503 ("Local 503). Counsel submits that, since the Decision was issued, the employer, Ottawa Public Library Board ("OPL") has determined that as many as eight job classes in the parties' pay equity plan that were formerly determined to be female job classes are in fact male or gender neutral job classes. As such, OPL has not paid any pay equity adjustments to individuals in those eight job classes within the 90-day period stipulated in paragraph 47(iii) of the Decision.
[5]. Counsel requests that pursuant to the reconsideration power under subsection 30(2), the Tribunal clarify that the intent of the orders set out in paragraph 47 of the Decision to require OPL to make payments to all of the job classifications recognized as female job classifications by the parties in the pay equity plan i.e. all classifications except those at pay grade 3, which the parties expressly agreed in the Agreed Statement of Facts upon which the Decision was based were gender neutral. Counsel submits that such clarification is required because Local 503 intends to seek enforcement of the Decision. Counsel contends that the clarification is necessary to enable such enforcement.
[6]. Counsel for Local 503 also requests the Tribunal to find that OPL is guilty of violating an order of the Tribunal under subsection 26(1) of the Act, and to impose a penalty (i.e., a fine) that reflects the allegedly deliberate nature of the violation.
[7]. The Tribunal is prepared to treat counsel for Local 503's correspondence as an application for reconsideration. OPL is directed to file and deliver its response to the application for reconsideration within ten days of the date of this decision. OPL's response may take the form of a letter, copied to counsel for Local 503.
[8]. Pursuant to Rule 83, the parties should expect that the Tribunal will deal with the request for reconsideration without an oral hearing, unless the Tribunal otherwise directs.
Dated at Toronto, Ontario this 15th day of July, 2015.
"Patrick Kelly"
Patrick Kelly, Vice-Chair