The JSSC (Joint System Subcommittee) has signed a Memorandum of Settlement with the Ministry of Community and Social Services for the ODSP classification grievances.
The following Q & A should address most of the concerns regarding the settlement.
What classifications were successfully reclassified?
- Customer Service Reps (OAD 08) will move to an OAD 09 level.
- Employment Support Clerks (OAD 06) will move to an OAD 08 level.
When does the reclassification take effect?
- The effective date of the reclassification is September 1, 2003. All grievors and non-grievors will receive retroactivity to that date.
Why is the retroactivity not being paid back to the date of the grievance?
- Usually retroactivity is paid from thirty (30) days prior to the date on the grievance form up to the implementation date.
- The parties (OPSEU, MBS and the Ministry) were not able to agree on the retroactivity period. Therefore, the grievance is deemed to be partially resolved, remains in non-concurrence and continues to be in dispute for the retroactivity issue only. The issue may be pursued in
the future.
What happens to the other grievances?
- Income Support Clerks (OAD 05), Income Support Specialists, Case Presenting Officers and Eligibility Review Officers will remain at their respective classification.
- The parties (OPSEU, MBS and the Ministry) were not able to agree on the reclassification of these positions and they have been signed off as “agree to disagree”.
- “Agree to disagree” means that we have differing opinions on the reclassification and cannot reach consensus. When this occurs, the grievance remains unresolved and may continue to be disputed or brought forward in the future.
Why does the classification grievance not go to mediation/ arbitration at the GSB?
- In 1995, the Conservative Government enacted legislation that brought about a number of changes to the Crown Employees Collective Bargaining Act (CECBA) and the Labour Relations Act. There were specific changes that affected how classification grievances are handled in the
OPS. As a result, the GSB cannot hear grievances where the remedy requested is either reclassification or higher wages.
Why was a Memorandum of Settlement signed when there is still non-concurrence on some of the issues?
- The JSSC had been working at resolving the grievances for many months and we could have continued but the outcome did not appear to change. The OPSEU members of the committee decided that we should sign an agreement on what we had achieved and to address the other issues in
the future. In circumstances of non-concurrence the parties sign off a memorandum indicating that they “agree to disagree” as a record of the discussions.
When will the increase be reflected on my pay cheque and when will the retroactivity be paid out?
- The Ministry will be notifying SSB of the changes and will notify the affected members of the dates.
Janet Wright on behalf of Lynda Ferguson, Neil Fraser and Doug Peebles(OPSEU JSSC Committee Members)
