December 21,
2006
Grievance backlog still not dealt with
OPSEU members in the OPS who are waiting for a resolution to
their classification grievance won’t get it before the New
Year.
The collective agreement signed in 2005 gave the Joint
System Subcommittee the job of clearing up a backlog of over
6,000 OPSEU classification grievances in the OPS. Appendix
34 of the contract appointed a mediator “to assist in
expediting consideration of the outstanding disputes and in
resolving them.”
The committee’s work was supposed to take 12 months from the
time of its first meeting in November 2005.
OPSEU members Moira Cowan and Lynda Ferguson have been
working on the backlog, assisted by OPSEU Job Security
Officer Marg Simmons.
“We are disappointed that the process is not yet complete,”
said Ferguson. “OPSEU members have been waiting for years,
and they deserve to know where their grievances stand.
“In the last year, we have examined all the evidence
submitted by grievors and presented the case for every
grievance. By now we hoped we would be notifying grievors of
outcomes, but unfortunately the process has not gone as
smoothly as we hoped.”
“We would love to be able to tell OPSEU members what is
happening, but we don’t want to jeopardize the progress we
have made,” said Cowan. “We’re committed to doing everything
we can to bring this project to a conclusion. It has been
very frustrating. Hopefully, we will be able to communicate
soon with members about their grievances, the way this
process unfolded, and what we need to do next.”
Life insurance protected past
age 65
OPSEU members in the OPS who work past age 65 will keep
their life insurance coverage under a new agreement between
the union and the Ontario government on Dec. 11.
The agreement modifies four articles in the OPSEU collective
agreement. It became necessary after the McGuinty government
passed legislation ending mandatory retirement for Ontario
workers who reach the age of 65.
Supplementary health and dental benefits will also continue
past the age of 65, but the collective agreement did not
have to be changed to make this happen. The collective
agreement says that plan coverage ends on the date of
termination of employment, not at age 65.
The employer has refused to provide continued coverage for
Long Term Income Protection or Workers Safety and Insurance
Board benefits.
The employer’s rationale is that sick or injured workers
past the age of 65 are eligible for pension income and do
not need LTIP or WSIB benefits to live.
“The employer’s argument is begging for a legal challenge,”
says Terry Baxter, OPSEU’s outgoing Supervisor for the OPS.
“There is a strong argument to be made that this is a
violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code.”
The employer’s policy will have to be challenged on the
facts of individual cases, Baxter said.
It won’t be challenged by him, however. Thirty-six years
after taking his first OPS job as a dairy products inspector
with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Brother
Baxter is retiring, effective Dec. 22.
All of OPSEU thanks Terry for his years of service and
wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.
Original authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman,
president.
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December 21, 2006 Issue of
Frontlines
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