Grievances
One of the most important roles of the Union is to ensure the Collective Agreement which has been bargained with the company is upheld. Any time the collective agreement is not followed it is subject to a grievance.
What constitutes a Grievance
A grievance is a violation of the employee's rights on the job – whether under the collective agreement or under legislation. Not all complaints are grievances. They need to clearly violate either the contract or the law.
Grievances can be violations of:
The contract
The law
Past practice
Employees’ rights
Steps of the Grievance Process
The grievance once filed will go through a series of steps and can potentially be resolved at any level of the process.
1st Step:
Delivered to the direct manager
2nd Step:
Delivered to the Director
3rd Step:
Delivered to the VP
Arbitration:
Taken to arbitration