On September 24th, Rob Lawson emailed our staff with regards to recent grievances that have been filed by members in Unit 2. The following was sent by Lawson:
“Recently you have filed appointments grievances for Courses that commenced this Fall. I feel that need to remind you of the Unit 2 signed back Memorandum of Settlement. Appendix C, item #7 states the following:
‘The Union understands and agrees that the Employer cannot comply with the standard posting and assignment process for the 2018 Summer and Fall terms. While the Employer will make best efforts to comply, the Union agrees that these provisions of the Collective Agreements are not to be strictly enforced in the return to work….’
Pursuant to the above it is inappropriate to be filing appointments grievances. The union has acknowledged that the need to make expedited appointments means that the CA can not always be strictly adhered to.”
We will continue to challenge the employer’s interpretation. It is the unions’ position that they still need to demonstrate that the best efforts were made to follow the procedures set out in the collective agreement as required by the Memeoridam of Settlement. We will continue to file appointment grievances for Unit 2 members. We will update the membership once we get more information.