Understanding the Grievance Process and Timelines

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Let’s start with the basics.

An ONA collective agreement normally defines a grievance as “a difference arising between the 

parties relating to the interpretation, application, administration or alleged violation of the 

agreement, including any question as to whether a matter is arbitrable.”

Everyone covered by an ONA collective agreement has an equal right to grieve. However, the decision to support a grievance remains with the Union and depends on many factors. When the facts do not support a grievance, the ONA Labour Relations Officer (LRO) and Grievance Committee determine whether or not a grievance should be filed.

Filing a grievance is the method of dispute resolution under the collective agreement and the 

Labour Relations Act.

Apart from our basic impulse to “right a wrong,” there are various fundamental issues at stake.

If management is allowed to violate the collective agreement, you and your fellow employees may lose these rights. It does not take long for management’s incorrect interpretation to gain 

acceptance. Management will quickly realize that it has the upper hand. With employees unwilling to grieve, the employer has, more or less, a free hand.

Another reason is to bring life to the collective agreement so that it is not just words on pieces of paper. It must be carefully and intelligently enforced if it is to mean anything. Most collective 

agreements, and the law provides you with protection against repercussions when you file a 

grievance.

Filing a grievance under existing contract provisions provides a demonstrated need to support 

amendments of provisions during negotiations. Filing grievances can also end an employer 

practice (estoppel) that does not comply with ONA’s interpretation of the language.

Finally, there are circumstances when the Union finds it necessary to “test” the language of the 

collective agreement to confirm whether the Union’s interpretation of or reliance on certain 

provisions is accurate.

Before filing a formal grievance, you must first give your immediate supervisor the opportunity to address your complaint. This should occur within nine (9) calendar days after the incident or when it reasonably comes to your attention. This is an opportunity for the parties to discuss the issue(s) and for the grievor’s immediate supervisor to rectify the complaint. The member alone, member and ONA representative or the ONA representative on behalf of the member may request this opportunity. 

You may seek consultation, advice, and assistance from others (site representative, Bargaining Unit President, Grievance Chair) during this discussion.

If it is not successfully resolved or there is no reply, or if the reply is unacceptable, within 9 days, the next step of the grievance procedure is to advance the issue through the process via a formally written grievance.

• Contact the Grievance Chair for additional discussion 
• The Grievance Chair will consult with the Labour Relations Officer and submit a written grievance through the Union, signed by you, to the Chief Nursing Executive or designate.
• The grievance form will detail the nature of the grievance, the remedy sought, and the alleged violated agreement provisions.
• You will be required to complete a Grievance Fact Sheet.  This is an editable Word document that you will be sent, and you can fill it and then save it with a new name, and forward it to the Grievance Chair (shngrievance@ona.org) 
• You can download a Grievance Fact Sheet by clicking here. 
• It is critical that you complete the Grievance Fact Sheet with as much information as possible to describe the situation accurately.  You may choose to include additional documentation, such as schedules, email communications, etc., to support your case. 
• A meeting may be arranged to discuss the grievance.
• The Labour Relations Officer will present the facts to the employer at a Step 2 meeting with Human Resources, your manager and any other relevant individuals.
• The Chief Nursing Executive or designate will deliver a written decision within nine (9) days of the grievance presentation.

Grievance meetings are held monthly at the Scarborough Health Network (second Thursday of the month unless otherwise scheduled) 

• The Hospital's decision will be provided in writing to the Labour Relations Officer and the local Union representative within nine (9) days of the meeting.
• If the reply to the written grievance is unacceptable, or if there is no reply within the time limits allowed in the collective agreement, the grievance must be advanced through the next steps of the procedure.
• The grievance is forwarded to the litigation team and is assessed to advance through the arbitration process.
• Grievance arbitration is the final stage of the grievance process. It is a legal hearing that ensures any dispute about the collective agreement between the Union and Employer can be decided by a neutral third party. If the ONA LRO does not receive a satisfactory reply from the employer or if no reply is received within the time limits of your collective agreement, the ONA Litigating and Servicing LROs will, in consultation with the grievance committee, decide whether the grievance should be referred to arbitration in accordance with ONA Policies.

Time limits are identified in your collective agreement and must be obeyed. Where a grievance has been filed or referred to arbitration late, after the timelines in the collective agreement have passed, an arbitrator may dismiss the grievance without a hearing for being untimely. In this situation, an employee may find that her/his particular problem cannot be dealt with because of the missed time limits.

Always contact your Grievance Chair or Bargaining Unit President if you have any doubts or need guidance. 

There are no time limits when the grievance is related to a Human Rights Complaint.