grievance form - OPSEU

All arbitrators said the only relevant PDF is the "official" one in place at the time of the
grievance, signed or unsigned, agreed or in dispute. Alternative versions, previous
versions or examples of how the grievor would write their PDF are not useful.
Arbitrators are clear that they examine the factors in dispute, not rewrite the PDF.
A large brief immediately leads to questions in the Arbitrator's mind about whether
expedited is appropriate or whether the case is fundamentally weak from the get go.
Some large briefs have led directly to orders to a full Board that complicates and delays
the result for the grievor.
Most important part of brief: UNION ARGUMENT
Inadequate argument (or no argument at all) was the most common criticism. A
statement that the factor in dispute should be rated higher is not an argument.
Likewise, a statement that the grievor believes the factor is worth a higher rating is not
helpful without an explanation of "why".
Where the PDF is agreed on, arbitrators advise tying the supportive parts of the PDF to
the factors in dispute. If the supporting part of the PDF relates to a part of the job that
is not done often, then it is difficult to succeed in obtaining a Regular & Recurring
rating for a factor when the example only applies to a task performed less than 5% of
the time.
One example where PDF and evidence did not support higher rating:
Physical Effort – a staff member in the bookstore where the physical effort related
to lifting books either when they arrive or are returned to the publisher.
Union was seeking Level 3 (recurring heavy physical effort) while the Employer had
rated it at Level 2 (regular moderate physical effort with occasional periods of heavy
physical effort).
Evidence from grievor states weight of boxes are between 25-75 lbs. Employer's
evidence confirmed that the industry standard for shipping boxed books is 35-50
lbs. Grievor's evidence was that he did this lifting about 5% of the time. For the
Arbitrator, Level 2 was best fit based on the evidence. 5% of the time does not meet the
threshold to describe task as being done on a Regular & Recurring frequency.
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