Update on 37.5 hour work grievances

This is an update for all BC Cancer Agency members with outstanding 37.5 hour work week grievances, and follows up on the bulletin we sent out to you on February 10.

In February we told you that the employer was prepared to negotiate a resolution to the outstanding 37.5 hour grievances at the BC Cancer Agency, and that we were working towards a prototype resolution at the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre. We were hopeful that discussions would result in resolutions for many of the outstanding grievances.

Members at the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre worked very hard to create schedule proposals for radiation and resource therapists, radiation therapy service technologists and physics assistants that incorporated some EDOs for members, while meeting the employer's service delivery objectives. Unfortunately, our discussions with the employer were not productive. The employer informed us on April 24 that they rejected all of the members' proposals.

We are no longer hopeful that discussions with the employer on these issues will be fruitful, and we confirm that we will use the June 11 date scheduled with arbitrators Vince Ready and Corrin Bell for a mediation/arbitration of the BC Cancer Agency 37.5 hour grievances. We have had this date in place since December 2014 in case discussions with the employer were not productive.

We have already sent submissions to the arbitrators and the employer explaining how the employer handled the 37.5 hour work week implementation process at the BC Cancer Agency. We used the Vancouver Cancer Centre and the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre as examples of how the process occurred, detailing the employee proposals and responses from those centres, and we included the service delivery objectives that the employer provided at each centre. We argued that the employer breached the 37.5 hour implementation process by engaging in the process on a province-wide level rather than on a case-by-case basis at each centre, deciding in advance of the process to eliminate EDOs on a global basis, and refusing to genuinely consider employee proposals.

We expect to receive the employer's response submissions by May 6. At the mediation/arbitration on June 11, the arbitrators will help the parties attempt to reach a resolution on the issues. If we are not able to reach a resolution, the arbitrators will issue a binding decision on the outstanding grievances, specifically, on whether the employer breached the 37.5 hour work week implementation process, and if so, what the employer must do to remedy the situation.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about this process in advance of the June 11 date:

Jessica Derynck, Legal Counsel - @email
Sheila Vataiki, Membership Services Coordinator, Servicing – @email
Josef Rieder, Assistant Membership Services Coordinator, Servicing – @email