October 12,
2006
Mediator’s report on
classification grievances expected by year end Committee
tackles 6,000 grievances
A mediator’s
report on the classification grievances of OPSEU members in
the OPS should be ready by the end of 2006, union members on
the Joint System Subcommittee (JSSC) say.
In the last round
of contract talks, the union and the employer agreed to give a
mediator one year to work with the parties to help clear up
close to 6,000 classification grievances, most of them from
several years ago. The JSSC got to work on the backlog last
November.
“We are on a tight
timeline, but we are confident that we can have all the work
done by the end of the year,” says Moira Cowan, one of two
OPSEU members working full-time on the backlog project. “At
that time all OPSEU members should know the outcome of their
grievance.”
The mediator has
imposed a blackout on all communication regarding individual
grievances until the final report is ready.
“We can’t
comment or provide any details at all on individual
grievances,” said Cowan. “All I can say is that the union
members on the JSSC have been making presentations outlining
the merits of grievances to the employer for close to a year.”
Mediation is not
arbitration, Cowan stressed.
“Mediation
is a huge step up from no mediation, but it is not the same as
having an arbitrator who is empowered to make a legal ruling,”
she said. “Under the Crown Employees Collective Bargaining
Act, it is still against the law for any OPS classification
grievance to go to arbitration.
“When this phase
is over, it is possible that we will have grievances that will
be referred to the Job Evaluation Project.”
(The Job
Evaluation Project is a joint union-employer process to
overhaul the entire job classification system before the next
round of contract bargaining starts in 2008. For more
information, see
http://www.opseu.org/ops/jobevaluation.htm .)
Survey sets stage for
OPS Divisionals
Don’t delete that e-mail!
The OPS Divisional
meetings are coming soon. On Nov. 25-26, some 500 delegates,
observers, alternates and Executive Board Members will meet in
Toronto. On the agenda:
· What’s
happening to work in the OPS, and how the union is
responding;
· The election of Ministry Enforcement and Renewal
Committees (MERC) for the next two years; and
· Laying the groundwork for the next round of OPS bargaining
in 2008.
To help kickstart
the conversation about bargaining, the Central Enforcement and
Renewal Committee is asking OPSEU leaders in the OPS to
conduct a short online survey. The secure, confidential survey
will be e-mailed to:
· all local
presidents with members in the OPS; · all MERC members;
· all members of the 2004-05 bargaining teams;
· all 2004-05 member mobilizers;
· all OPSEU Executive Board Members; and
· all OPSEU staff involved in the 2004-05 round of
negotiations.
E-mail
notification, with a link to the survey, will be coming from
OPSEU Communications in the next day or two. If you are on the
list above, but do not receive an e-mail, please contact Cindy
Forsyth, OPSEU Job Security Unit, at 1-800-268-7376 ext. 8762.
Original
authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, president.
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October 12, 2006 Issue of
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