Mediation and Arbitration 27.1 The parties will use their best efforts to negotiate in good faith and settle any dispute that may arise out of or relate to this agreement or any breach thereof. If such dispute cannot be settled amicably, through ordinary negotiations by the parties, the dispute shall be referred to the senior representative nominated by the Managing Director or Managing Partner of each party, who will meet in good faith in order to resolve the dispute. If the dispute is not resolved as a result of such meeting, either party may, within 7 (seven) days of its conclusion, propose to the other in writing that structured negotiations be entered into with the assistance of a mediator.
27.2 If the parties are unable to agree on a mediator, or if the mediator agreed upon is unwilling or unable to act, any party may within 7 (seven) days from the date of the proposal to appoint a mediator, or within 7 (seven) days of notice to any party that is unwilling or unable to act, apply to the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa (AFSA) to appoint a mediator.
27.3 The parties will, within 7 (seven) days of the appointment of the mediator, meet with him in order to agree on a program for the exchange of any information and the structure to be adopted for the negotiation to be held in Pretoria or Johannesburg.
27.4 All negotiations connected with the dispute will be conducted in complete confidentiality and the parties undertake not to divulge details of such negotiations, except to their professional advisors, who will also be subject to such confidentiality and will be without prejudice to the rights of the parties in future proceedings.
27.5 If the parties accept the mediator’s recommendations, or otherwise reach agreement on the resolution of the dispute, such agreement shall be reduced to writing and once, it is signed by the duly authorised representatives, shall be final and binding on the parties.
27.6 Failing agreement, any of the parties may invite the mediator to provide a non-binding, but informative opinion in writing as to the merits of the dispute and the rights and obligations of the parties. Such opinion will be provided on a without prejudice basis and will be private and confidential to the parties and may not be used in evidence in any proceedings commenced pursuant to the terms of this agreement, without the prior written consent of all the parties.
27.7 Should the parties fail to reach agreement in the structured negotiations within 30 (thirty) days of the mediator being appointed, such a failure shall be without prejudice to the right of any party, subsequently to refer any dispute or difference to arbitration, but the parties agree that, before resorting to arbitration, the structured negotiations in accordance with this clause shall have taken place.
27.8 That arbitration shall be held – 27.8.1 with only the parties and their representatives including their legal representatives, present thereat; 27.
GRIEVANCE AND ARBITRATION PROCEDURES 8.01 Any employee(s) or the Union may present a complaint at any time without recourse to the formal written procedure contained herein. Failure to comply with this step, or the manner in which it is complied with shall not interfere with the formal grievance procedure, nor shall this step be subject of preliminary objections in any arbitration hearing.
8.02 At any step in the grievance procedure, including the complaint stage, the employee may be accompanied by his/her employee representative.
8.03 Grievances shall be registered with the Employer as follows: Step No. 1 An employee(s) or the Union on his/her/their behalf or in its own stead may present a grievance in writing to the Director of Care. Such grievance must be presented within ten (10) days of the date of its occurrence or when the employee or the Union reasonably ought to have been aware of this occurrence. The Director of Care shall render a decision in writing in ten (10) days following the day on which the grievance was submitted. If this decision is unsatisfactory to the employee(s) or the Union, Step No. 2 may be followed within ten (10) days. The grievance in writing shall be referred to the Administrator of the Home or designate who shall call a meeting of the Grievance Committee at the request of either party within seven (7) days of the filing of the grievance or such further period as the parties may agree. Within three (3) days following this meeting or within ten (10) days following the submission to the Administrator of the Home or designate if no such meeting is held, the Administrator of the Home or designate shall reply in writing to the employee(s) and the Chairperson of the Grievance Committee. If this decision is unsatisfactory to the employee(s) or the Union, Step No. 3 may be followed within ten (10) days. Within ten (10) days after the decision is given at Step No. 2 the grievance may be referred to the Chief Administrative Officer of the County or designate and the employee accompanied by his/her representative shall meet within ten (10) working days with the Chief Administrative Officer and Committee of Management or their designates. The employee may also be accompanied by a full-time representative of the Union if so desired at this stage. The Employer will render a decision in writing within ten (10) days following such meeting. If the decision is unsatisfactory to the employee(s) or the Union, it may be referred to arbitration.
8.04 A policy grievance may be presented by either the Union or the Employer at Step 2 of the Grievance Procedure.
8.05 Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, should the Employer discharge, suspend or discipline an employee or employees, notification by the Employer to such employee or employees shall be made in the presence of a member of the Union. Should the employee(s) or the Union on his/her/their behalf file a grievance against the discharge, suspension or discipline, it shall be reduced to writing and filed within ten (10) days under Step No. 3 of the Grievance Procedure.
8.06 Before any grievance is submitted to arbitration, the parties may meet with a Grievance Mediator in order to attempt to resolve such grievance. The parties may refer any number of outstanding grievances to the Grievance Mediator for possible resolution. Each party shall pay one-half (1/2) of the fees and expenses of the Grievance Mediator.
8.07 When either party requests that a grievance be submitted to arbitration, the grievance shall be submitted to one of the following panel of sole Arbitrators: ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ If a grievance has already been submitted to one of the Panel of Arbitrators, then any subsequent grievances shall be submitted to the next Arbitrator on the Panel. In order to accept an appointment, the Arbitrator must agree to render an award within thirty (30) days of the last day of hearing.
8.08 In the event that the parties mutually agree to refer a grievance to a tripartite Arbitration Board, the party requesting arbitration shall advise the other of its nominee to the Arbitration Board. Within ten (10) days thereafter, the other party shall answer, in writing, indicating the name and address of its appointee to the Arbitration Board. The Chair shall be selected from the Panel of Arbitrators set out in paragraph 8.07 above.
8.09 Once appointed, the Arbitration Board or single Arbitrator shall have all the powers set out in Section 50 of the Labour Relations Act including the power to mediate/arbitrate the grievance and to limit evidence and submissions.
8.10 Each party shall pay the costs and expenses of its appointees and the costs and expenses of the Chairperson shall be borne equally by the parties. Arbitration hearings shall be held in the community of the Employer or at such other places as may be agreed upon by the Union and the Employer.
8.11 The Arbitration Board shall not have jurisdiction to amend or add to any of the provisions of this Agreement, or to substitute any new provisions in lieu thereof, nor to give any decision inconsistent with the terms and provisions of this Agreement.
8.12 No person may be appointed as an arbitrator who has been involved in an attempt to negotiate or settle the grievance.
8.13 Any time limit referred to in the Grievance and Arbitration Procedures shall be exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and holidays observed by the Employer and the days off of the aggrieved employee including vacation, and such limits may be extended with the agreement of both parties.
Dispute Resolution and Arbitration The following procedures shall be used in the resolution of disputes:
Arbitration Procedures In the event that the teacher and the School Board are unable to resolve any grievance, the grievance may be submitted to arbitration as defined herein:
1. Request: A request to submit a grievance to arbitration must be in writing signed by the aggrieved party, and such request must be filed in the office of the superintendent within ten (10) days following the decision in Level III of the grievance procedure.
GRIEVANCE AND ARBITRATION PROCEDURE 8.01 The parties to this agreement believe it is important to adjust complaints and grievances as quickly as possible as provided for herein. The employee or Union shall first discuss any individual complaint informally with the Director of Care or designate at the first opportunity.
8.02 In all steps of this grievance procedure an aggrieved employee, if she so desires may be accompanied by or represented by her Union Representative. At Step 1 of the grievance procedure a representative of the Ontario Nurses' Association may be present at the request of either party.
8.03 Should any dispute arise between the Employer and an employee, or between the Employer and the Union, as to the interpretation, application, administration or alleged violation of any of the provisions of this Agreement, the employee or Union Representative will bring it to the attention of the immediate supervisor to settle such differences within ten (10) days of the occurrence. If further action is to be taken, then within ten (10) days of the discussion, the employee, who may request the assistance of her Union Representative and/or Labour Relations Officer, shall submit the written grievance to the Administrator or designate. A meeting will be held between the parties within ten (10) days. The Administrator shall give a written decision within ten (10) days of the meeting to the Bargaining Unit President or her designate with a copy to the Labour Relations Officer. Should the Administrator fail to render his decision or failing settlement of any grievance under the foregoing procedure, including any questions as to whether a matter is arbitrable, the grievance may be referred to arbitration by either party. If no written notice of intent to submit the matter for arbitration is received within ten (10) days after the decision under Step No. 1 is received, the grievance shall be deemed to have been settled or abandoned.
8.04 A written grievance will indicate the nature of the grievance and the remedy sought by the grievor. Union grievances shall be set out on the union grievance form. Alternately, the parties may agree to an electronic version of this form and a process for signing.
8.05 Time limits fixed in the grievance and arbitration procedures may be extended only by written, mutual consent of the parties. Should the Employer not respond within the time limit(s) fixed, such failure to respond shall be deemed to be a denial of the grievance. Should a grievance not be submitted within the various time limits specified in this Agreement, unless mutually extended, it shall be considered to have been settled or abandoned.