TORONTO – The Ontario Public Service Employees Union has forced the provincial government to back off on its planned security checks on government workers, set to begin today.
Writing for the Grievance Settlement Board, chair S. L. Stewart ordered the government to stop its security and credit checks until the board deals fully with grievances arising from the plan.
“This is a very significant decision in that the board has stopped certain draconian measures which would clearly violate the fundamental privacy rights of many public servants, said Paul Cavalluzzo, lawyer for the union.
“We look forward to defending the employees’ interests when the board hears the case as to whether these measures are legitimate. Although 9-11 was tragic, it should not be an excuse to suspend our cherished civil liberties,” he said
OPSEU President Leah Casselman said she was delighted members would not be threatened with job loss if they refused to consent to the intrusions into their privacy. “We will put our strongest case in front of the GSB, and I am confident that we will win an outright victory when the entire matter is considered,” she
said.
In a decision released to day, the GSB decided the union had an arguable case against the proposed checks, and the potential damage to union members was sufficiently serious to warrant putting the checks on hold.
“There is no way to actually reverse a fingerprinting exercise,” the GSB ruled. “The displacement of employees removed from their jobs because of a refusal to consent to a security check or because of an unsatisfactory security check can be remedied on a going forward basis, but not retroactively.
“The questioned integrity of those who may be displaced because of an unsatisfactory credit rating could not be undone,” the ruling said. “The privacy interests of the employees … clearly outweigh the interests of the employer.”
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For further information:
Paul Cavalluzzo: 416-964-5500
Katie FitzRandolph: 416-448-7440 or cell 416-788-9057 or kfitzrandolph@opseu.org
David Cox: 416-443-8888 (ext 314) or cell 416-788-9197 or dcox@opseu.org
