What is a grievance? A grievance is a violation of your Collective Agreement, Human Rights violation, Occupational Health and Safety Act violation or Labour Relations Act violation. We get complaints on every aspect of working conditions in the workplace.

When should I contact the union? Members need to FIRST speak to their supervisor to try and resolve the matter before contacting the union.  If you feel that there has been a dispute or difference of opinion or interpretation between yourself and the Employer you should contact the appropriate steward for your job classification. If the steward is not able to provide the information and support your issue will be taken to the Vice President.  From there the Vice President will contact the appropriate people to try to rectify the issue.  Hopefully it can be resolved without filing a grievance.  If not, a formal grievance will be filed.  The VP &/or President will be notified about the situation and may take an active role in the grievance procedure.

Are all grievances the same?

There are several types of grievances: individual, policy/union, and group.

An individual grievance is a complaint that an action by the employer has violated the rights of an individual as set out in the Collective Agreement, law or some unfair practice. Examples of this type of grievance include: discipline, demotion, classification disputes, denial of benefits, etc.

A policy/union grievance is a complaint by the Union that an action or failure or refusal to act by the employer is a violation of the Collective Agreement that could affect all members who are covered by the Collective Agreement.

A group grievance is a complaint by a group of individuals, for example, a department that has been affected the same way and same time by an action taken by the employer.

If you have any questions or if you aren’t sure if your rights have been violated the best thing to do is to reach out to your steward. if you aren’t sure who to contact please see the contact list.

**If you are ever in position where a situation becomes disciplinary, it is in your best interest to stop the meeting immediately and ask for a union representative.  A union representative is the Steward, Vice President or President.**