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July 31, 2002
OPSEU charges government with bad faith bargaining
OPSEU has charged the government with three instances of bad faith bargaining following the OPS strike.
The charges involve:
• the government suppressing a report that would have strengthened the union’s argument for higher wages for ambulance dispatch officers; and
• a government attempt to avoid paying two areas of drug costs covered in the new OPS collective agreement.
OPSEU filed the charges Tuesday before the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB).
Report on Ambulance Dispatchers was suppressed
The case for Communication Operators (ambulance dispatch) involves an independent report on the Hamilton Central Ambulance Communications Centre, produced for the government, which confirmed problems with hiring, retention, pay and benefits for the ambulance dispatchers.
Despite requests from the Health Ministry MERC and the bargaining team, the government would not produce the report during negotiations. Later statements by the Minister of Health and his parliamentary assistant confirmed it was suppressed during bargaining.
OPSEU had included the Communications Officers among about 80 requests for special cases, and, in fact, achieved an 8 per cent special adjustment for the group in negotiations, based on members’ reports of difficulty hiring and keeping dispatchers.
The report recommended higher pay to increase retention because ambulance dispatchers make considerably less than other emergency dispatch services with lower and less stressful workloads.
“OPSEU’s bargaining position was harmed by not having access to the report, because the report specifically supported OPSEU’s position that recruitment and retention were a significant problem for Ambulance Dispatchers and that sufficient wage increases were necessary to combat this
problem. With the report, OPSEU would have had objective evidence supporting its position and would have demanded and likely obtained a higher ‘special case wage settlement.’”
As a remedy, OPSEU asks the Labour Board to direct the government to meet and re-negotiate the special case for Communication Operators 1, 2 and 3.
Letter to insurer doesn’t match contract language
The employer has told its insurance carrier to restrict drug payments to OPSEU members in two areas:
• Generic substitution. The new collective agreement requires that generic drugs be used whenever a generic version of a brand-name drug exists. The government says the plan will be for only the “lowest priced generic equivalent.” This is not in the collective
agreement. This change could cost some members hundreds of dollars. The lowest-priced generic drug at a supermarket in Toronto might cost a fraction of the same drug at a drugstore in (for example) Dryden. Members would end up paying the higher price but being reimbursed for 90 per cent of the lowest price in the province.
• Over-the-counter drugs. The government has told Manulife to remove all coverage for over-the-counter drugs and says the plan will only pay for “drugs that legally require prescription.” This is not in the collective agreement. The agreed-to contract language says the
plan will cover “drugs that require doctors prescription.” There is a difference. OPSEU maintains that any drug prescribed by your doctor should be covered.
Employer tried to change contract language...
Problems first arose in discussions at the Edit Committee. The Edit Committee is where the employer and the union meet to iron out technical details to get the collective agreement ready for official signing and printing. This work includes checking spelling, combining unchanged
language from the old contract with changed language in the new contract, and renumbering articles if necessary. It ensures that the changes agreed to in bargaining are accurately reflected in the final document. It is not a continuation of bargaining.
Edit Committees may make minor changes to add clarity where both sides agree on what the negotiators intended, but in this case the employer tried to make changes to the actual language ratified on May 5.
Led by Janis Bartley, the manager in charge of relations between OPSEU and Management Board, the employer demanded several changes to the Central collective agreement in several areas.
Contract language doesn’t matter: Bartley
The employer’s demands for the changes above were met with a flat refusal by the OPSEU members and staff on the edit committee.
“The employer does not get to add language to the agreement (or subtract language) unless the changes were in the memorandum of settlement, which is the document that members voted on at ratification,” said OPSEU Chief Negotiator Andy Todd.
Eventually realizing this, the employer dropped its demands for changes to the contract language. But in a stunning move, employer Bartley stated - in front of several witnesses - that the employer had already instructed the insurance carrier to interpret the contract according to
the government’s way of thinking!
A government letter to Manulife confirmed this.
OPSEU has asked the OLRB to hear the charge of bargaining in bad faith as soon as possible, as some OPSEU members are already being denied compensation that they are owed. OPSEU is seeking full compensation for any claims that were denied, or partly denied, as a result of the
government’s action.
“The problems we are having are a reflection of the poor state of labour relations with this government,” said Andy Todd. “Someday we hope to achieve normal, professional labour relations, but at this point we can’t say when that might be.”
Minister David Tsubouchi's number is (416) 327-2333
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