HN2100
Collective Agreement
Administration
With
Paul Tilley
Unit 4
Collective Agreement
Administration - Part 2
Overview of this Unit
• In this unit we will examine the process of administering a collective
agreement. Including:
• Key provisions of a Collective Agreement
• Key principles surrounding the right to file grievances,
• the role of the union in fairly representing members' interests in the process,
and
• the use of grievances rather than strikes to settle contract disputes will be
examined.
• We will distinguish between the different types of labour relations
disputes and focus upon rights disputes, as we examine some
commonly grieved rights issues such as seniority and discipline and
discharge.
Unit 4
Collective Agreement Administration - Part 2
After completing this unit, you should be able to:
• Identify the contents of a collective agreement
• Describe the grievance procedure
• Identify mandatory collective agreement language
• Distinguish between and interest grievance and a rights
grievance
• Explain the role of the labour board in grievance arbitration
• Identify the types of disciplinary action
• Discuss the discipline grievance
• Explain the concept of due process
Contents of a Collective Agreement
• A Collective Agreement:
• Is a legal contract negotiated between a union and an employer
• typically sets out the rates of pay, hours of work, vacations, benefits,
grievance procedures, and other conditions of employment
• Has a set term. (typically one to three years)
• Since each workplace is unique, collective agreements are negotiated
between the union (representing employees in the bargaining unit)
and the employer to deal with many of the unique issues of that
particular workplace.
Mandatory provisions of a Collective
Agreement
• Labour legislation does specify that there are key provisions that must be
present in all collective agreements – so-called mandatory provisions.
• Typical Labour Relations Acts require that:
• there be no strikes or lockouts during the term of the collective agreement
• workplace disputes within the term of the agreement must be settled without work
stoppage
• agreements be in force for at least one year
• The employer must deduct dues from each member of the unit, regardless if they
are members of the union
• collective agreements are binding on both parties involved and individual deals
cannot be made with workers (unless my mutual agreement)
• The union is the sole representative of the bargaining unit (Recognition clause)
• Management has the right to manage the jobsite
Mandatory provisions of a Collective
Agreement
• Labour legislation does specify that there are key provisions that must
be present in all collective agreements – socalled mandatory
provisions.
Recognition clause - The [employer] recognizes the Union as the sole bargaining agent for all employees [insert words from certification] except for those employees [insert exemptions from
certification].
Management Rights clause - The Union recognizes and acknowledges that management of the operations and direction of the working force are fixed exclusively in the [employer], and
[the employer] has the right without restricting the generality of the foregoing to: Maintain order and efficiency - Hire, promote, demote, classify, transfer, suspend and rehire
employees, and to discipline or discharge any employee for just cause provided that a claim by an employee who has acquired seniority, that he/she has been discharged or disciplined
without just cause may be the subject of a grievance and dealt with as hereinafter provided.
Make, enforce and alter, from time to time, rules and regulations to be observed by the employees. Such rules or regulations shall not be inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement.
Union Security clauses - Consider if employees would be required to be members of the union in order to be and/or remain employed, or if employees would automatically have union dues deducted
from their pay whether or not they are members of the union.
Workload clauses – Defines workload
Salary & benefit clauses – defines salary
Vacation and Leave clauses – defines vacation and leave policy
Sick Leave clauses – defines sick leave
Hours of Work and Overtime provision
Seniority clauses
Grievance provision
Workplace Disputes
Workplaces can be breeding grounds for conflict, including those
arising out of development and subsequent interpretation of the
employment contract. There are two basic classifications of workplace
disputes:
• Interest disputes – A dispute that arise because the union and
management are unable to negotiate a collective agreement.
• Rights Disputes- A dispute that arises from the interpretation and
application of the collective agreement, such as the individual, group
and policy grievances described previously.
Resolving Disputes –
The Grievance Procedure
• a grievance is a complaint raised by an employee that may arise from
a violation of a collective bargaining agreement, the terms of a
contract, the treatment by others in the workplace, or violations of
the law, such as workplace safety regulations.
• A raised grievance is resolved by a procedure provided for in all
collective agreements.
• As the griever progresses through the steps, the meetings become
more formalized and often involve more senior management.
The Grievance Procedure
The Grievance Procedure
• Before a grievance actually becomes a "grievance," it is said to be a complaint
which is usually made orally, after consultation with the shop steward. The shop
steward is elected by the union membership to represent workers. One of the
main functions of the steward is to receive and investigate grievances.
• Typically, if the complaint is not handled satisfactory to the griever, the griever
can file a step 1 grievance to his/her supervisor. Most grievance procedures
contain time limits at each step which ensure that grievances are dealt with
expeditiously.
• If not settled to the satisfaction of the Griever, the grievance continues to
progressively higher levels of the employer’s organization.
• When grievances cannot be settled at any of the various steps outlined in the
grievance procedure, the final stage is arbitration where an arbitrator, or board of
arbitrators, decide the case and their decision is final and binding.
The Grievance Procedure
Towards Arbitration
• If the grievance remains unsettled, representatives for both sides would
continue to meet to resolve the conflict. On rare occasions, a
representative from the national union might join the process. Or, a
corporate executive from headquarters (if the firm is a large
corporation) might be called in to help resolve the grievance.
• If not solved at this stage, the grievance goes to arbitration. Arbitration
is flexible and can be applied to almost any kind of controversy except
• Grievance arbitration is a means by which disputes arising from
different interpretations of a labour contract are settled by a third party.
The Grievance Procedure
Arbitration
• When grievances cannot be settled at any of the various steps outlined
in the grievance procedure, the final stage is arbitration where an
arbitrator, or board of arbitrators, decide the case and their decision is
final and binding.
The Grievance Procedure
Is the issue in question arbitrable?
• Not only do arbitrators determine the issue in dispute, they also determine
whether they have jurisdiction to hear the dispute - that is, whether the
dispute is arbitrable.
• To move to arbitration, the following questions must be satisfactory answered
by the union:
• Does the complaint constitute a valid grievance?
• If it does, is there any likelihood of success?
• Would a dismissal of the grievance create an unfavourable precedent that would be bad
for the bargaining unit or the union?
• Would the success of the grievance harm the interests of other members of the
bargaining unit?
• Would the failure of the grievance confirm misconduct that could be used against the
grievor later?
• Does the gain to be made justify the financial cost?
The Grievance Procedure
Duty of Fair Representation
• All unions must fairly represent their members. The duty of fair
representation requires a union to treat bargaining unit members fairly
and honestly, in a manner that is not arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad
faith.
The Grievance
Video – The Grivance
• This older, but relevant short documentary gives an introductory
portrait to labour relations in Canada.
• Produced in cooperation with the Trades and Labour Congress of
Canada, the film traces the process of filing a worker’s grievance in the
mechanical and industrial fields.
• union.https://www.nfb.ca/film/grievance