Understanding the Grievance Process
If you have a concern at work that hasn’t been resolved informally, you can follow the formal grievance process outlined in our collective agreement. This process helps ensure your concerns are heard and addressed fairly. Below is a summary of the first two steps in the grievance process, including timelines and who is involved at each stage.
Step One – Making a Complaint:
If you have a complaint, you need to first give your supervisor a chance to resolve it.
- You must fill out a complaint form and give it to your supervisor within 10 working days of when the issue happened.
- You can submit the form electronically (like a scanned file).
- Your supervisor must meet with you within 5 working days to talk about the complaint. You can bring a union representative with you if you want.
- After the meeting, your supervisor must give you a written response on the same form within 5 working days.
If your complaint isn’t resolved after this step, you can move to Step Two of the grievance process. You must do this within 5 working days after getting the supervisor’s response.
Note:
If your complaint is about a job posting (e.g. a hiring decision), it skips Step One and starts at Step Two, and you’ll meet with the person who made the hiring decision.
Step Two – Filing a Grievance:
If your complaint wasn’t resolved in Step One, the Union’s Grievance Chair can move it to Step Two.
- They must send a grievance form including a copy of the Step One form, to the Director of Employee Relations (or their delegate) within 5 working days of receiving the Step One response.
- This can be sent electronically (like a scanned file).
- The grievance must be signed by you and/or your union representative. It needs to include:
- What the grievance is about,
- What solution you’re asking for, and
- Which part(s) of the collective agreement you believe were violated.
- The union is responsible for handling the grievance.
- A meeting must be held within 15 working days after the grievance is received. Both management and union reps will attend.
- A written decision will be sent to the Union’s Grievance Chair within 5 working days after the meeting.
Important Notes:
- The Region can choose not to deal with grievances filed directly at Step Two or refuse arbitration if the issue happened more than 10 working days before the complaint or grievance was filed.
- However, if you were on a protected leave (like parental or medical leave), this 10-day limit may be extended for a reasonable amount of time.
Questions? Send an email to the Grievance Chair, Grievance@cupe1883.ca