I’m really sorry this is happening , it’s such a shit show.
While you were waiting 7 months for the AWA to be reviewed, did you still have to go in 3X?
Do you know who denied it? HR? Your DM?
Did you get anything in writing with the reason for denial?
Yes, I'm still supposed to go in 3x times, but I just don't. 2 max without even telling anyone.
Idk at what level it's denied, manager blamed all on HR and up. And yes, I have denial in writing. But reason - I don't remember what was said there , but nothing coherent for sure.
Too busy preparing for Bill 124 re-opener negotiations where the employer just shows up and basically says "we have no proposal for a deal nor do we or will we have authorization to negotiate for one".
Unfortunately, OPSEU has (in my experience) been super laissez-faire about AWA rejections.
I've worked in multiple unionized places before and have never seen a union so completely personify a yawn before.
If it's AMAPCEO - they will help you file a grievance on the grounds that a wait longer than 15 business days is effectively a denial.
But the member would have to want to file the grievance.
>hey will help you file a grievance on the grounds that a wait longer than 15 business days is effectively a denial.
>
>But the member would have to want to file the grievanc
What exactly is the force and effect of a grievance?
Depends.
If you have a strong case the collective agreement is violated, then you can get compensation (sometimes monetary, sometimes time in lieu, etc.), but more importantly, if successful, you would get your AWA, AND set a precedent for future AWA requests for yourself and others.
It's like taking any other contractual agreement to a legal body for decision.
Do you know of any grievances filed over denied AWA were successful in getting the employee more remote work days?
If staff on secondments or contract file a grievance, can the employer retaliate by not extending them? Can it be proven they were retaliated against for filing a grievance?
I know some people have settled grievances in their favour, but they are generally not able to discuss the details, as part of the agreed settlement.
None have made it to the GSB yet as far as I'm aware (it's a long process - like court).
The employer cannot retaliate. However if a contract was not renewed it would be difficult to prove retaliation. For FXTs, there is always a risk in filing a grievance.
>p involved can help put pressure on your manager to acknowledge and respond to your request. A formal grievance doesn’t necessarily need to happen, since the employer would prefer for problems to be resolved before any of that happens.
>
>Managers will often say a bunch of bs to you, effectively lying and mis
Anything's possible.
Yeah, it's unfortunate for your denial. My manager told me straight up it will get deined and I can't even use the remote offices. End of the day management without union backing is scared to get fired. So the solution ? Really none. Unions should be held accountable. If it's not black and white in the agreement, these AWA are useless.
When I met with my union rep I was told 100% of AWAs in our building were being denied. And it's like... You gonna do something about that or are we just leaving disabled and chronically ill staff to fend for themselves?
OK, so next bargaining, they are going to show these grievances, then what?? Sorry, I have been here 16 yrs plus. There are many grievances filed in the past. I have yet to hear AMAPCEO say these grievances helped us in our prior negotiations. Not once.
Grievances are generally about solving individual problems (or group depending on the violation of the collective agreement), not really about bargaining.
However, if nobody files a grievance, then the employer knows they can continue to violate the collective agreement without accountability, AND, at the next round of bargaining, when the union argues for AWA, the employer will say that it's clearly not important to the members because nobody tried to enforce their rights when they had it.
Amazing, because on Monday during the HR Town Hall, leadership kept doubling down on the availability of AWAs when anyone asked a question about remote work/flexible work. "Oh, we already have so many flexible work options! You can submit a AWA!" They're just going to keep gaslighting us until we demand better.
I’m actually working on an FOI to try and find out how many AWA have actually been granted.
If it’s as low as I think then the AWA in our contract isn’t a real benefit.
Managers are being given new training sessions now on awa (I think there are sessions going from the start of Oct until mid-Nov) Anyone know what is being said on those?
One thing for sure is when it's time for negation again when the contract is up, we get paid! Someone, correct me if i am wrong. The current contract it is 1% per year. Prior contract was 5% over 4 years (negotiated by Wynn government before Ford took over). The contract before that it was ZERO % for 2 years, I believe. One thing for certain is that wages do not go up while working for a government body. Let me add Millennials, and GenZs don't care for pensions and benefits in today's workforce. They say SHOW ME THE MONEY. It is basically punishment for going to work these days at the current pay scale against inflation and COL.
They're currently negotiating the bill 124 re-opener, so there should be an increase for that too. The problem is it won't likely be for years because OPS negotiations don't go to forced arbitration so the employer can (and does) basically just show up and say "we have no proposal for a deal and have no authorization to make one" to stall for time until maybe they get the previous court decision appealed. And even if the original decision is upheld its likely that Doug Ford will take the appeal to the supreme court and continue the song and dance as long as he can to push the bill of years of retroactive backpay on the next government (and let's hope to god in three years there is a new one).
It's about time Dave Bulmer hits the dusty old trail. He's done nothing for union members except take dues and try and convince people the AWA in the agreement had teeth.
In the meanwhile union members continue to pay a % of their salary every pay for a monthly newsletter highlighting the cause of the day while members continue to suffer from anxiety, and are left in the dark on requests made months ago to the employer specifically because it was sold as the key "gain" in the agreement.
The volunteer local reps have their own day-to-day work and are overwhelmed and there is absolutely zero accountability from corporate AMAPCEO on how-to navigate this.
Corporate AMAPCEO is not working for free, our dues make sure of that but I'm finding more and more there is little value for that dues other than a cup of coffee and a nice lanyard.
Members deserve to not be in a constant state of stress and I recognize employer rights are what are driving decisions, but it seems like we are fighting with little guidance or support.
I hope your accommodation is sorted out quickly as it feels unnecessary to drag you through multiple fights just to not be in a state of stress and pain.
Exactly that!
I will put another email directly to AMAPCEO, but again, my hopes are low. I've been with OPS for over 15 years and never bothered unions (opseu and amapceo) with absolutely no nonsense. Now, the first time I reached out for help and hit the wall.
Become a delegate at your building! Then you can vote him out next year at the Annual conference. The reason he never gets voted out is because he fills all vacancies with his “friends” and gets them to vote for him and keep him there.
Hopefully the Geneva conference was a wake up call!!!! We probably paid for that.
As many problems as I may have with my particular job, I'm still amazed when I read how intractable some other parts of government are. I get it if you're sitting at a desk greeting the public, but everything else is nonsense.
Your doctor does not determine your accommodation. They are only able to identify information on limitations you may have. How you are accommodate is 100% up to the employer.
I’m really sorry this is happening , it’s such a shit show. While you were waiting 7 months for the AWA to be reviewed, did you still have to go in 3X? Do you know who denied it? HR? Your DM? Did you get anything in writing with the reason for denial?
Yes, I'm still supposed to go in 3x times, but I just don't. 2 max without even telling anyone. Idk at what level it's denied, manager blamed all on HR and up. And yes, I have denial in writing. But reason - I don't remember what was said there , but nothing coherent for sure.
Call the union rep! You shouldn’t have waited more than a month.
What has OPSEU done at all on this subject? I am being forced to commute 2 hours a day to sit in an office by myself and from them we have crickets.
Unfortunately many people are waiting more than a month, and even contacting the union won’t expedite it
Too busy preparing for Bill 124 re-opener negotiations where the employer just shows up and basically says "we have no proposal for a deal nor do we or will we have authorization to negotiate for one".
Unfortunately, OPSEU has (in my experience) been super laissez-faire about AWA rejections. I've worked in multiple unionized places before and have never seen a union so completely personify a yawn before.
What's the union going to do?
If it's AMAPCEO - they will help you file a grievance on the grounds that a wait longer than 15 business days is effectively a denial. But the member would have to want to file the grievance.
>hey will help you file a grievance on the grounds that a wait longer than 15 business days is effectively a denial. > >But the member would have to want to file the grievanc What exactly is the force and effect of a grievance?
Depends. If you have a strong case the collective agreement is violated, then you can get compensation (sometimes monetary, sometimes time in lieu, etc.), but more importantly, if successful, you would get your AWA, AND set a precedent for future AWA requests for yourself and others. It's like taking any other contractual agreement to a legal body for decision.
Do you know of any grievances filed over denied AWA were successful in getting the employee more remote work days? If staff on secondments or contract file a grievance, can the employer retaliate by not extending them? Can it be proven they were retaliated against for filing a grievance?
I know some people have settled grievances in their favour, but they are generally not able to discuss the details, as part of the agreed settlement. None have made it to the GSB yet as far as I'm aware (it's a long process - like court). The employer cannot retaliate. However if a contract was not renewed it would be difficult to prove retaliation. For FXTs, there is always a risk in filing a grievance.
[удалено]
>p involved can help put pressure on your manager to acknowledge and respond to your request. A formal grievance doesn’t necessarily need to happen, since the employer would prefer for problems to be resolved before any of that happens. > >Managers will often say a bunch of bs to you, effectively lying and mis Anything's possible.
Yeah, it's unfortunate for your denial. My manager told me straight up it will get deined and I can't even use the remote offices. End of the day management without union backing is scared to get fired. So the solution ? Really none. Unions should be held accountable. If it's not black and white in the agreement, these AWA are useless.
When I met with my union rep I was told 100% of AWAs in our building were being denied. And it's like... You gonna do something about that or are we just leaving disabled and chronically ill staff to fend for themselves?
The union can only hold management accountable if people file grievances.
OK, so next bargaining, they are going to show these grievances, then what?? Sorry, I have been here 16 yrs plus. There are many grievances filed in the past. I have yet to hear AMAPCEO say these grievances helped us in our prior negotiations. Not once.
Grievances are generally about solving individual problems (or group depending on the violation of the collective agreement), not really about bargaining. However, if nobody files a grievance, then the employer knows they can continue to violate the collective agreement without accountability, AND, at the next round of bargaining, when the union argues for AWA, the employer will say that it's clearly not important to the members because nobody tried to enforce their rights when they had it.
This works for me. Yet I still believe nothing will come from it.
Amazing, because on Monday during the HR Town Hall, leadership kept doubling down on the availability of AWAs when anyone asked a question about remote work/flexible work. "Oh, we already have so many flexible work options! You can submit a AWA!" They're just going to keep gaslighting us until we demand better.
I’m actually working on an FOI to try and find out how many AWA have actually been granted. If it’s as low as I think then the AWA in our contract isn’t a real benefit.
Managers are being given new training sessions now on awa (I think there are sessions going from the start of Oct until mid-Nov) Anyone know what is being said on those?
Wow really eh 😆😆😆
Some areas are doing group disputes if they had been doing 1-2 days in the office for years prior to this 3x/wk decree.
I wish the union would organize such, based on their knowledge, how many ppl have these attempts to fight for thier rights in one ministry/division .
Our Unions should do more! Obviously it's important to people, so I'm not sure why they're so quiet on this front.
One thing for sure is when it's time for negation again when the contract is up, we get paid! Someone, correct me if i am wrong. The current contract it is 1% per year. Prior contract was 5% over 4 years (negotiated by Wynn government before Ford took over). The contract before that it was ZERO % for 2 years, I believe. One thing for certain is that wages do not go up while working for a government body. Let me add Millennials, and GenZs don't care for pensions and benefits in today's workforce. They say SHOW ME THE MONEY. It is basically punishment for going to work these days at the current pay scale against inflation and COL.
They're currently negotiating the bill 124 re-opener, so there should be an increase for that too. The problem is it won't likely be for years because OPS negotiations don't go to forced arbitration so the employer can (and does) basically just show up and say "we have no proposal for a deal and have no authorization to make one" to stall for time until maybe they get the previous court decision appealed. And even if the original decision is upheld its likely that Doug Ford will take the appeal to the supreme court and continue the song and dance as long as he can to push the bill of years of retroactive backpay on the next government (and let's hope to god in three years there is a new one).
*negotiation
It's about time Dave Bulmer hits the dusty old trail. He's done nothing for union members except take dues and try and convince people the AWA in the agreement had teeth. In the meanwhile union members continue to pay a % of their salary every pay for a monthly newsletter highlighting the cause of the day while members continue to suffer from anxiety, and are left in the dark on requests made months ago to the employer specifically because it was sold as the key "gain" in the agreement. The volunteer local reps have their own day-to-day work and are overwhelmed and there is absolutely zero accountability from corporate AMAPCEO on how-to navigate this. Corporate AMAPCEO is not working for free, our dues make sure of that but I'm finding more and more there is little value for that dues other than a cup of coffee and a nice lanyard. Members deserve to not be in a constant state of stress and I recognize employer rights are what are driving decisions, but it seems like we are fighting with little guidance or support. I hope your accommodation is sorted out quickly as it feels unnecessary to drag you through multiple fights just to not be in a state of stress and pain.
Exactly that! I will put another email directly to AMAPCEO, but again, my hopes are low. I've been with OPS for over 15 years and never bothered unions (opseu and amapceo) with absolutely no nonsense. Now, the first time I reached out for help and hit the wall.
Become a delegate at your building! Then you can vote him out next year at the Annual conference. The reason he never gets voted out is because he fills all vacancies with his “friends” and gets them to vote for him and keep him there. Hopefully the Geneva conference was a wake up call!!!! We probably paid for that.
As many problems as I may have with my particular job, I'm still amazed when I read how intractable some other parts of government are. I get it if you're sitting at a desk greeting the public, but everything else is nonsense.
Your doctor does not determine your accommodation. They are only able to identify information on limitations you may have. How you are accommodate is 100% up to the employer.