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CAUT Grievance Conference
3 Dec 04 – This conference for senior grievance officers was held Nov. 5-7th in Ottawa. The Program allowed for discussion and problem solving within working groups of grievance officers of similar sized institutions. Both unionized and non-unionized faculty associations were represented at the conference.
Topics that were discussed included:
Health and safety issues and the grievance procedure: Anthony Pizzino, the Chief Health and Safety Officer for CUPE addressed the conference about strengthening health and safety rights of members through the grievance procedure and the type of contract language that is required to do so. Tony made several excellent points including the fact that every joint committee meeting must be viewed as negotiating with the employer, all inspection work must be paid for by the employer in time release or salary equivalent, and that using the Health and Safety act along with the grievance procedure is very effective in instituting change in the working environment. If the Joint Health and Safety Committee is stone-walled by the employer representatives, a grievance may break the log jam and result in effective, mutual problem solving.
CAUT is interested in the issue of asbestos in aging academic facilities across the country and will be publishing documents and procedures for faculty associations seeking guidance around this hazard.
The Duty of Fair Representation to a member of the Association:
Several faculty associations reported concerns with respect to one or more members utilizing the time and resources of the staff in handling complaints.
Under Labor Standards Act, a bargaining unit must meet the Duty of Fair Representation. CAUT legal counsel, Mariette Pilon, discussed the principles of this duty as well as practical aspects of fulfilling the duty. She identified the following essential duties: investigation of the case in an objective manner, confidentiality with respect to the case, documentation of actions undertaken and their rationale and careful note taking in all meetings with the griever. It was her suggestion that practice be consistent from case to case and that the griever sign the notes of any actions discussed.
Evidence of failure to meet the duty of fair representation includes but is not limited to:
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Bad faith: failure to listen to a complaint, dismissal of a complaint without investigation as to grievability and facts.
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Arbitrary Process: decision made on the spur of the moment without rationale or decision based on systemic discrimination.
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Gross Negligence: Failure to provide facts, failure to investigate claim, false statements at arbitration, failure to respect Collective agreement and/or constitution of the association.
Finally Ms. Pilon stated that if the griever is unsatisfied with the manner in which the association represents her, she has the right to file a complaint with the Labor Board in the province. Should a griever indicate their intent to do so as a means of intimidating the association staff, she should be invited to file the complaint. A hearing will settle the issues and reduce the continued drain on the human resources of the association.
Common Concerns coming to Grievance Committees across Canada:
- Intellectual property rights claims
- Accommodation in the workplace particularly for individuals with stress related illness or mental illness
- Mobbing (discrimination, bullying or chill) in the workplace
- Increased use of CLAs
- Academic misconduct in research
- Refusal of LTD benefits
The conference was quite helpful and participants recommended a similar conference with added case studies for the next year.
Ruthanna Dyer, Chief Steward