The Central Enforcement and Renewal Committee (CERC)
The
purpose of the Central Enforcement and Renewal Committee* (CERC) is to
promote and facilitate consultation and communication between OPSEU and
our OPS employer on issues of joint interest. We make sure that what was
bargained in the collective agreement is actually happening in our
workplaces. If a multi-Ministry workplace policy is unfair, we file a
policy grievance.
We are
your bargaining team between rounds of bargaining. When the union is not
negotiating a collective agreement, the CERC is the forum for discussion
and resolution of corporate labour relations matters that affect OPSEU
members in more than one Ministry.
The
CERC team and the chairs of each Ministry Enforcement and Renewal
Committee (MERC) form a working group that meets regularly to address
issues in each Ministry. These issues are addressed directly with the
employer at the senior level. This senior level for the government is
Management Board Secretariat.
Here’s how it works
Each
Local in the Ontario Public Service should have an elected Local
Enforcement and Renewal Committee (LERC) which meets with local
management to resolve issues that have been brought to their attention.
Minutes of LERC meetings are distributed and posted in each workplace.
Issues
not resolved at the Local level may be referred to the MERC. The MERC
team addresses issues that affect members in the whole Ministry. The
minutes of these meetings are posted on the employer’s and union’s
websites.
To have
a Local issue addressed at the Ministry level, send a copy of the local
minutes that outline the unresolved issue to your MERC Chair, with a
completed referral form. Referral forms are attached to the minutes of
each MERC meeting. For a complete listing of MERCs and how to contact
them, please see
http://www.opseu.org/ops/merc/mercindex.htm.
Issues
not resolved at the Ministry level are referred to the Central Employee
Relations Committee (CERC) for resolution. The CERC also deals with
issues that affect the OPS as a whole. The CERC meets once a month.
Minutes of meetings are also posted on the employer’s and union’s
websites.
http://www.opseu.org/ops/cerc/cercindex.htm.
* The
OPSEU collective agreement for the OPS officially refers to the CERC,
the MERCs, and the LERCs as “Employee Relations Committees.” OPSEU
prefers “Enforcement and Renewal Committees.” This term is more
descriptive of the Committees’ purpose.
