ARTICLE 50 – GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
50.01 A grievance means a dispute over the interpretation, application, administration or alleged violation of any Article or Clause in this Collective Agreement.
50.02 A teacher may file a grievance in the manner prescribed herein on the teacher’s own behalf or on behalf of himself/herself and one (1) or more teachers. In the latter case, the other teachers shall affix their signature to the written grievance.
50.03 A teacher or group of teachers who allege to have a grievance shall submit the grievance in writing to the Assistant Director of Education for Human Resources, or the Directeur général adjoint (Finances et Administration), with respect to the Conseil scolaire francophone provincial de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador within fifteen (15) calendar days of the occurrence or discovery of the incident giving rise to the alleged grievance stating the precise nature of the grievance and the Article and Clause of the Agreement over which the grievance arises.
50.04 Where a grievance has been filed in accordance with Clause 50.03, the Assistant Director of Education, or the Directeur général adjoint, together with such other representatives of the School Board as may be deemed necessary, shall within fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt of the grievance, meet with the aggrieved teacher or groups of teachers to endeavour to resolve the grievance. The teacher or group of teachers may be accompanied at this meeting by representatives of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association and/or the Labrador West Branch of the Association. It is understood that members of the bargaining unit cannot be required to act as School Board representatives. Such members, however, may attend with the consent of both parties.
50.05 The Assistant Director of Education, or the Directeur général adjoint shall, within five (5) calendar days after the meeting referred to in Clause 50.04, transmit in writing his/her decision on the grievance to the aggrieved teacher or group of teachers. In all grievances, the Assistant Director of Education, or the Directeur général adjoint shall forward a copy of his/her reply to the Association.
50.06 If the decision of the Assistant Director of Education, or the Directeur général adjoint does not result in the settlement of the grievance, the teacher or group of teachers may submit the grievance in writing to the Director of Education, or to the Directeur général of the Conseil scolaire francophone provincial de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador within fifteen (15) calendar days of the receipt of the decision rendered in accordance with Clause 50.05.
50.07 The Director of Education, or the Directeur général of the Conseil scolaire francophone provincial de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador shall, within ten (10) calendar days of his/her receipt of the grievance, transmit in writing his/her decision of the grievance to the aggrieved teacher or group of teachers. In all grievances, the Director of Education, or the Directeur général of the Conseil scolaire francophone provincial de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador shall forward a copy of his/her reply to the Association.
50.08 If the decision of the Director of Education, or the Directeur général of the Conseil scolaire francophone provincial de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador does not result in a settlement of the grievance, the teacher or group of teachers may, with the written consent of the Association, submit the grievance to arbitration in accordance with the procedure set forth hereunder, Article 51 – Arbitration.
50.09 A teacher or group of teachers who have a grievance over a matter which is within the scope of authority of the Department of Education shall submit the grievance in writing to the appropriate Divisional Head of the Department of Education within fifteen (15) calendar days of the occurrence or discovery of the incident giving rise to the grievance stating the precise nature of the grievance and the Article and Clause of the Agreement over which the grievance arises.
50.10 Where a grievance has been filed in accordance with Clause 50.09, the Divisional Head shall, within fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt of the grievance, meet with the aggrieved teacher or group of teachers to endeavour to resolve the grievance. The teacher or group of teachers may be accompanied or represented at this meeting by a representative of the Association.
50.11 The decision of the Divisional Head referred to in Clause 50.09, shall be transmitted in writing to the aggrieved teacher or group of teachers within five (5) calendar days from the date of the meeting referred to in Clause 50.10. In all grievances, the Divisional Head shall forward a copy of the reply to the Association.
50.12 If the decision of the Divisional Head does not result in settlement of the grievance, the aggrieved teacher or group of teachers may submit the grievance in writing to the Deputy Minister of Education within fifteen (15) calendar days of receipt of the decision under Clause 50.11.
50.13 Where a grievance has been filed with the Deputy Minister of Education, the decision of the Deputy Minister shall be transmitted in writing to the aggrieved teacher or group of teachers within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the grievance under Clause 50.12. In all grievances, the Deputy Minister shall forward a copy of the reply to the Association.
50.14 If the decision of the Deputy Minister of Education does not result in settlement of the grievance, the aggrieved teacher or group of teachers may, with the written consent of the Association, submit the grievance to arbitration in accordance with Article 51.
50.15 Where a teacher or group of teachers allege that they are being discriminated against by application or interpretation of a School Board regulation or by-law, the teacher(s) shall have recourse to the grievance procedure.
50.16 No grievance proceedings will be invalidated by reason only of a technical error under Clauses 50.03 and 50.09.
50.17 Notwithstanding the provisions of this Article, a teacher may present a personal complaint to the School Board at any time.
50.18 If advantage of the provisions of this Article has not been taken within the time limits specified herein, the alleged grievance shall be deemed to be abandoned and cannot be re-opened.
50.19 The parties may mutually agree to extend the time limits specified herein.
50.20 Failure to give a decision within the time periods specified by any person required to give a decision shall have the same effect as a decision which does not result in a settlement of the grievance.
50.21 Where the Employer has a grievance against the Association or the Association has a grievance against the Employer, the parties shall meet within ten (10) calendar days of the occurrence or discovery of the matter giving rise to the grievance and attempt to settle the grievance. If the grievance is not settled as a result of this meeting, either the Employer or the Association, as the case may be, shall have the right to refer the grievance to arbitration in accordance with Article 51.
50.22 Where it is necessary to hold a grievance meeting during regular working hours, a teacher shall not suffer any loss of pay while participating in, or travelling to attend such meetings.
