Contract Enforcement

As an ONA member, you can defend your rights and advocate for safe, equitable workplaces to achieve high quality health care for all Ontarians through contract enforcement and advocacy. Your workplace enforcement rights are outlined in a collective agreement.

Your collective agreement (a legal contract between ONA and your employer) outlines your terms and conditions of employment including pay rates and benefits, vacation time, sick leave and short and long-term disability.

Your collective agreement also has specific clauses relating to professional responsibility, workload, seniority rights, job postings, scheduling and the grievance procedure which is used to enforce contract rights.

Grievances

Sometimes, there are disagreements between ONA members and their employers relating to the interpretation of your negotiated collective agreement or rules and policies.

A grievance is a process governed by Ontario labour laws for differences and issues arising between the parties relating to the interpretation, application, administration or alleged violation of the collective agreement.

The Grievance Process

If you think your rights have been violated, you should contact your Bargaining Unit President right away. There are mandatory timelines to raise issues. Your representatives will be able to assist you with next steps and represent you throughout the process.

If ONA and an employer cannot resolve a grievance at the workplace level, we may proceed to binding arbitration as a final resolution mechanism. Arbitration is a way to resolve grievances which remain in dispute, allowing the union and the employer to present their positions before a neutral third-party arbitrator. The decision by the arbitrator is binding – meaning their decision is final.

Full details of the grievance process can be found in your workplace collective agreement.

Why File a Grievance?

Filing a grievance enforces your negotiated rights as a union member. It is a dispute resolution process for violations and differences in interpretation of the collective agreement and a mechanism to advocate for safe and equitable conditions.

Filing a grievance under existing contract provisions can guide future negotiations and collective agreement improvements. It can also end an employer practice that does not comply with ONA’s interpretation of contract language. ONA has had many, many wins upholding members’ contract rights.