When is it a Grievance?
A grievance occurs whenever the employer violates your rights under the collective agreement. Whether this violation is by accident or intentional, we will work with you to resolve the grievance with the university. Most grievances are individual member grievances, where one faculty member is affected by a collective agreement violation. However, we also deal with group and policy grievances, where a larger group or the entire association may be affected.
In addition to handling grievances themselves, many times our members have difficulty interpreting some of the language in the collective agreement. They may not be able to determine whether they have a potential grievance or not. The GMUFA can provide its interpretation of the intent and historical usage of the language to determine if you may have a grievance case or not.
Collective Agreement Procedures
Grievances are covered by articles 4 and 5 of our collective agreement, which provide a formal procedure for handling grievances. At each of these steps, you have the right to have an GMUFA representative assist you, including attending meetings.
Steps
- Steps 1 and 2 of the grievance procedures require informal discussions in an attempt to resolve the grievance at an early stage.
- Step 3 of the procedure is a formal, written complaint from the GMUFA to the grievor’s dean or director.
- Step 4 moves the formal complaint up to the appropriate university executive officer
- Finally, if we are unable to reach an agreement after these 4 steps, the GMUFA may take your grievance to arbitration, where an independent panel will hear the evidence and decide the final resolution of your grievance
GMUFA Support to Assist You
The faculty associaiton also has its own internal grievance procedures. The Professional Resource Officer and Vice-President, Faculty Welfare will assist you during the informal stages of the grievance procedures. The GMUFA executive committee, acting on the recommendation of the grievance committee, will determine whether to file a formal, written grievance.
Sean Hillman, Professional Resource Officer
hillmans2@macewan.ca or 780-633-3594