FPSLREB Decisions

Jurisdiction - Policy grievance - Rates of pay - Section 99 of the Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA) - the bargaining agent and the employer entered into a letter of understanding whereby they agreed that, if during the term of the collective agreement, the rates of pay applicable to the employees in the Management Trainee Program were revised, the FS Developmental Pay (FSDP) Structure would be revised to reflect those changes - the parties also agreed to update the rates contained in clause 42.06, In-Range Relativity Increases for FS-1 employees, to maintain the relationship with the FSDP Structure - subsequently, the parties signed a memorandum of settlement that adjusted the FSDP rates - however, the employer did not update the maximum FS-1 rate contained in clause 42.06 to maintain the relationship with the FSDP rates because to do so would have required an increase to the maximum pay rate for FS-1s contained in Appendix A to the collective agreement - the bargaining agent referred the matter to the Board for determination - the employer objected to the Board's jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter as this was a matter which could be the subject of an individual grievance and therefore did not fall within section 99 of the PSSRA - the Board dismissed the employer's objection to its jurisdiction - the Board found that, in its grievance, the bargaining agent sought as remedy to have the employer update all the rates of pay in clause 42.06 and this could not be the subject of an individual grievance - the Board found that updating the minimum pay rate for an FS-1 by 2%, which was the relationship that existed between the two maxima prior to the adjustment to the FDSP rates, would put the minimum pay of an FS-1 beyond the maximum rate of pay as set out in Appendix A - in the letter of understanding, the parties did not agree to update the FS-1 pay structure in Appendix A - accordingly, the letter of understanding must be interpreted in light of clause 42.02 and Appendix A of the collective agreement - this means that the agreement to update the rates must be within the range of pay for an FS-1 that is provided for in Appendix A. Grievance denied.