Wondering about unfair treatment at work..

[Doctor Zoidburg]

If all else fails.....................

Send her some cat cookies by mail. If you do not have a cat, I have a cat that makes fresh cookies everyday. You are welcome to her stash.

 

[Keebler Elf]

Call the labour board? They'll tell you to contact your union. Carry a tape recorder? Inadmissable. WTF, You people don't know what you're talking about.

First off, talk to your steward. Not your union rep. Your union rep is a step above your steward. Your store should have a steward. You shouldn't be calling your union office if you have a steward that you haven't talked to.

Next, put your request in writing and make sure to specify your availability. Give it to both your supervisor and the store manager. If nothing gets done, show it to your steward and see if that brings results. If not, file a grievance for harassment or discrimination.

Are there others in your position? It could be that none of the part time employees are getting the hours they want. It could be that your availability doesn't match the hours they need filled. What the store's policy on allocating work schedules?

What does your collective agreement say about hours of work? If you're part time I can almost guarantee you that there is something in there about your minimum/maximum hours of work. In the absence of such, it falls to management rights to determine how many hours you work. Your only case would be if other (junior) employees are getting more hours than you (and for the same time period).

 

[Keebler Elf]

RIf you have objective bases for your accusations and if LRB refuses to act, then you have the option to file with the Human Rights Commission a complaint in a form approved by the Commission.

You cannot file a human rights complaint unless you fall under one of the OHRC prohibited grounds of discrimination (e.g., being a woman, visible minority, aborigal, disabled, etc.). We haven't heard of any such grounds.

 

[Keebler Elf]

Unfortunately Constructive Dismissal does not apply in a Unionized workplace. In fact, with a union the employee has no remedy in the regular courts whatsoever. The Ontario Labour Relations Board has sole jurisdiction for all employment law claims in a unionized environment.

Not true on both counts.

You can be constructively dismissed in a unionized environment. It almost never happens though b/c you have a union to fight your case for you. But it could conceivably happen. In this particular case, however, what is the fundamental terms of employment that the employer has unilaterally and unreasonably violated? We don't know if the OP has guaranteed minimum hours of work.

The OLRB does not have sole jurisdiction. Arbitrators can remain seized to deal with ongoing issues and one of the first things the OLRB does it determine whether or not it has jurisdiction to hear the complaint. There are a variety of reasons why it would not.

p.s., something like 85% of employee complaints to the OLRB of unfair representation by their union are tossed out as being unfounded. Just b/c the union doesn't do what you want doesn't mean they are not fulfilling their obligation to provide fair representation.

There's a heck of a lot we're not being told in this particular case...

 

[Aircraft]

Human Rights Code of Statutes

You cannot file a human rights complaint unless you fall under one of the OHRC prohibited grounds of discrimination (e.g., being a woman, visible minority, aborigal, disabled, etc.). We haven't heard of any such grounds.

He does mention his boss as being sexist and prejudiced and if these accusations are germane to his treatment then certainly prohibited grounds may be shown as relevant.

Apart from the sexist prohibited ground he does not specify the basis of his charge of prejudice. But that does not mean that there are none ( race, ancestry, citizenship, place of origin etc.).

That is why I suggested he address his attention to the Human Rights Code of Statutes from the Government of Ontario which has the resources to advise him of any status he may have in this context.

Incidentally, freedom from discrimination and the right to equal treatment does not specify that a prohibited ground refers to one being a women, a visible minority, an aboriginal or disabled person etc. Rather it contextualizes prohibited grounds in more generalized contexts such as race, colour, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, handicap etc.

It is up to the complainant to particularize the complaint in this framework. As I read his comment, it would be wrong, without more information, to dismiss
a complaint that may be germane to the Ontario statutes.

 

[Aircraft]

Human Rights Code

I forgot to mention in this thread regarding Dash's dilemma, that he can acquire a free copy of the Ontario Human Rights Code at Publications Ontario located on Bay Street on the North West corner (just about at the corner) at the junction with College Street. More significantly in your case, you can pick up there a free copy of Guide to the Human Rights Code which should give you the information you need to determine whether you can proceed with a complaint.

Since I do not live in Toronto I do not have a relevant telephone book; but if you do, you should look up Publications Ontario in order to acquire the precise location.

 

[Keebler Elf]

Generally speaking, you shouldn't be filing a Human Rights complaint until you've exhausted all your avenues with your bargaining agent (your union). Trust me, every whiner and their brother runs to the OHRC crying discrimination just b/c they don't get what they want. Oh yeah, enjoy the 1-2 year wait it takes for your case to be resolved.

And if this is a straight, white guy, good look at the OHRC...

 

[Aircraft]

Yes, obviously he need not file a complaint until all other avenues have been exhausted. And he should not because the Commission would send him back to exhaust those avenues before it gets involved -if the complaint is legitimate. Moreover, the decisions and reasoning of those avenues would be relevant.

"Filing a grievance for harassment or discrimination", of course, will take a long time to process and give birth in any context -but especially in an adulterated one.

The "whiners" and whiteys are irrelevant to the consideration of a legitimate complaint. I don't know whether Dash is a whiner or a whitey or not. And neither do you. But he will find out very quickly if he is willing to analyse his own case in the context of the Guide to the Code and any preliminary submission he may be contemplating.

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It is a privilege to see so much confusion