YUFA
External
Ontario Federation of Labour Conference on Accommodation
15-16 November 2002
Ruthanna Dyer
The focus of this conference was improving collective bargaining language
to ensure accommodation for differently-abled workers. While
provincial laws and commissions provide the legal mandate for
non-discriminatory practices and redress, these are often not efficient.
Laws may be changed at any time. Contract language that goes beyond
the provincial standards can be bargained and it will also provide more
rapid redress through the grievance procedure.
Professor Michael Lynk of University of Western Ontario was the keynote
speaker on Disability and the Duty to Accommodate in the Canadian
Workplace.
He reviewed recent case law around this issue and provided a clear and
concise explanation of the employer's duty and the union's duty to
accommodate. Workers share in the duty to accommodate workers who
are differently able. Much of Lynk's presentation concerned the
Meiorin case. This case resulted in the Supreme Court of Canada
clearly defining the duty of the employer to provide non-discriminatory
practices. It is considered a landmark decision in workplace equity.
Lynk's paper and related reference material were provided and will be
available in the YUFA office.
Workshops were focused on identifying systemic barriers to accommodation
and solutions to remove such barriers. Unfortunately the task was so
large, we did not have time to craft sample contract language to address
these barriers. Examples of barriers involved inflexible hours of
work, time lines for promotion, lack of dedicated funding for equipment
and negative attitudes in the workplace. Many of these barriers were
unintentional, but still inequitable.
The final plenary session dealt with workplace audits of systemic
discrimination. It was stressed that the collective agreement,
constitution and bylaws of the union need to be viewed through a
disability lens to identify areas or practices that may lead to
discrimination. In addition all policies of the employer and
insurance carriers need to be reviewed through the same lens.
While we have a clause (18.41) in the YUFA agreement that deals with
accommodation for persons with disabilities, it is problematic. The
language ties the worker's rights to the "extent required by the
Ontario Human Rights Code". Should changes be made in the code,
our rights within the Collective Agreement would be affected. The
language does not designate funding sources to meet the need for
accommodation and thus workers have been told that department funds would
need to be budgeted to meet their needs. There is no language in the
YUFA agreement to require joint worker/union and employer resolution of
issues arising out of the need for accommodation. As in many workplaces,
there is much work to be done to ensure that the duty to accommodate is
met in an effective and non-discriminatory manner.