December 19, 2000
RFP grievance scheduled for hearing
The Dec. 22 deadline for opting in or out of the
Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Penetanguishene superjail is fast
approaching. This affects members working at the Barrie Jail, Burtch
Correctional Centre, Guelph Correctional Centre and the Parry Sound Jail.
The following letter was received today from
OPSEU’s lawyers regarding the union grievance on this matter:
As you know, the hearing of the various
grievances filed by the Union with respect to the Ministry’s privatization
plans came on for hearing on Friday, December 15, 2000.
Further to our discussions, we only dealt with
the issues of the Ministry having to disclose information and time off for Union
members. We were able to negotiate an agreement providing for time off and the
Ministry provided some of the disclosure requested and agreed to provide the
rest by tomorrow. We therefore did not need to actually commence to litigate the
grievances.
I am writing with respect to one other issue
which was discussed - the deadline of December 22nd for members to
opt in or out of the RFP.
The Ministry refused to consider extending
this date. As you know, prior to the 15th I had indicated to Len
Marvy that we might seek an interim relief order extending the date. When I
discussed this with Mr. Marvy on the 15th, in the presence of the arbitrator, he
advised that the Ministry would oppose interim relief, in part on the basis that
any harm that would flow from people having had to decide on the 22nd
if we ultimately win the case could be remedied, either by the payment of
damages or by employees being entitled to re-elect to opt in or out of the RFP.
In light of this, it was clear that we could
not succeed in obtaining interim relief. Instead, if we ultimately win the
grievances and can establish that the Ministry’s breach was serious enough (ie.
that the wrong people were included in the RFP or that in fact relocation
expenses are payable) we will be able to obtain a remedy allowing employees to
re-elect to be included in the RFP.
I advised the team that members should be
advised to make their elections by the 22nd on the basis that the
information in the letters they received from the Ministry is correct. That is,
they should decide what course of action they would take if the Ministry has
acted properly and is entitled to proceed with the RFP’s as planned.
I advised that members should also be told
that if we succeed with the grievance and there is any substantial change in the
nature of the RFP so that employees might have made different choices, they
would have the right to re-elect whether or not they wish to be included in the
RFP.
The matter has now been set down for hearing
on January 22, 2001 and I expect that by that time the RFP will have been issued
and we will be able to deal with all challenges we have to the Ministry’s
actions.
A little Yuletide cheer
Although former Corrections Minister Rob
Sampson has departed prior to the holidays, we still want to wish him the best
for the season. Local 233’s Fred Tucker sent in this following tribute, and we
only find it fitting to include it here. Hopefully, you already know the melody.
A one and a two…
Sampson Got Run Over by a Reindeer
Sampson got run over by a reindeer, handing out
RFP’s on Christmas Eve.
You can say there’s no such thing as Santa, but as for us in Corrections, we
believe!
Sampson been drinking too much power, and we
begged him not to privatize.
But he forgot what the public wanted, and RFP’s flew before our eyes.
When we found him Christmas morning, outside of
the parliament lands.
Brochures were scattered all around, with incriminating Y.O. names in his hands.
Now we’re all so proud of Corrections, they’re
as cheerful as you please.
Warming themselves by the fire, lit with Sampson’s stupid RFP’s.
Sampson got run over by a reindeer, handing out
RFP’s on Christmas Eve
You can say there’s no such thing as Santa, but as for us in Corrections, we
believe!
Keep sending in those ballots
Ballots on the corrections non-confidence vote
continue to arrive. This vote is still going through, so LECs are reminded to
get their results in as soon as possible.
Please send them to OPSEU Head Office, attention
to Don Ford. Also include your local number and the final vote count in your
package.
Resolution watch
The resolution count tops 155 this week with the
addition of the Township of Baldwin (west of Sudbury), the Town of Iroquois
Falls (near Timmins), the Village of Hastings (east of Peterborough) and the
Municipality of Bayham (east of St.Thomas). Our thanks go out again to the
Resolution Warrior, Len Mason of Local 737 (Thunder Bay Jail). Take some time
off for the holidays, Len!
For campaign information, call Don Ford (ext. 442) or Carol Whitehead
(ext. 356) at
1-800-268-7376 or (416) 443-8888. e-mail: dford@opseu.org
or cwhitehead@opseu.org
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
100 Lesmill Road, Toronto, Ontario M3B 3P8
www.opseu.org
opseu@opseu.org
Original authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, president.
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