Court Reporters win... again!
June 24, 2011
The fight to gain full and fair compensation
for the work of Court Reporters continues. On the arbitration front the
Hunt decision is one decisive moment.
Now, OPSEU Court Reports have scored another
victory in this campaign. In this case an attempt by the employer to take
away member rights to grieve was defeated.
Through a motion presented to Vice Chair
Abramsky (in Hollingsworth et al) the government, once again tried to
dismiss Court Reporters’ grievances regarding current working conditions and
changes in practices in various courthouses.
In a decision issued June 21, 2011 by the
Grievance Settlement Board (GSB), Vice Chair Abramsky confirmed that Court
Reporters currently have the right to grieve when the Collective Agreement
is not applied to transcript production. This is a critical right given
that the Employer has yet to comply with the Hunt decision.
Vice Chair Abramsky commented that, “It is
significant in my view, that the Employer has not made any changes in regard
to transcript production since the July 27, 2006 decision in Hunt in regard
to transcript production—almost five years ago.” She further states, “It is,
therefore, not surprising that new individual grievances have been filed
alleging that the Employer has failed to comply with the collective
agreement in regard to transcript production.”
In the final paragraph of the decision Abramsky
states, “The Employer asserts that allowing these grievances to proceed is
an abuse of process. I cannot agree. These matters arise long after the
decision in Hunt. They arise from the fact that the Employer has still not
complied with the decision in Hunt. They create no abuse of process.”
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas notes
that, “The right for workers to grieve is a critical part of the union’s
enforcement ability so the only abuse I can see is this flagrant employer
attempt to strip away this right from Court Reporters.”
Smokey also states that, “The government can
count on the fact that OPSEU will continue to fully support Court Reporters
in the fight to achieve full and fair compensation for their important
work.”
Court Reporters are reminded to please continue
keeping a record of all hours worked in the preparation and certification of
transcripts.
For additional information on the
decision please contact Marg Simmons at
msimmons@opseu.org or 1-800-268-7376.
Download decision pdf
