13. Arbitration
13.01 Any such reference to an Arbitration Board by either party may include any grievance arising out of the interpretation or application or alleged violation of this Agreement. Arbitration Board shall have the authority to rule only on those matters referred to it in the dispute and shall have jurisdiction to settle all issues referred including the question of arbitrability. The Arbitration Board shall have the power to modify disciplinary measures imposed by the Employer, but in no event shall the Arbitration Board have the power to alter, modify, or amend this Agreement in any respect.
13.02 The party requesting arbitration must set forth in writing the issue or issues to be heard by the Arbitration Board and in what respect the Agreement has been violated or misinterpreted.
13.03 Within seven (7) days of receipt of the said notice of arbitration, each party shall notify the other in writing of the appointment of its representative to the Arbitration Board. In the event that either party fails to appoint a representative to the Arbitration Board within the time provided, the other party may request the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment of the Government of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador to appoint a representative on behalf of the defaulting party.
13.04 The two (2) arbitrators so appointed shall within ten (10) days of the appointment of the latter appoint a third arbitrator who shall be Chairperson. The three (3) 10 parties thus appointed shall constitute the Arbitration Board. In the event that the two (2) representatives of the parties to the Agreement fail to agree on the appointment of a Chairperson within the aforementioned ten (10) days, the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment of the Government of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador may be requested by the representative of either party to appoint a Chairperson of the Arbitration Board; and such appointment shall be binding on both parties.
13.05 Within a reasonable time, not to exceed forty (40) days following its appointment, the Board shall meet for the purpose of hearing the evidence of both parties and shall render a decision following the completion of taking evidence, to which shall be attached all exhibits filed by the parties with their briefs at the hearing or hearings. A copy of the Board’s decision shall be immediately given to both parties to the dispute and this decision shall be binding on both parties as provided for in Section 23 of The Labour Relations Act, SN, 1977, C. 64.
13.06 If a party fails to attend or be represented without good cause at an arbitration hearing, the Arbitration Board may proceed as if the party had been present or represented.
13.07 The fees and expenses of the Chairperson of the Arbitration Board shall be equally divided between the Employer and the Union. Each party shall bear the expense of its nominee on the Arbitration Board.
13.08 The time limits set forth in this Article may be varied by mutual consent of the parties to this Agreement.
13.09 Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, the parties may mutually agree to the substitution of a single arbitrator for an Arbitration Board, in which event, the foregoing provisions of the Article shall apply equally to a single arbitrator when reference is made to an Arbitration Board.
13.10 Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, the parties may mutually agree to utilize any of the various forms of Alternate Dispute Resolution to expeditiously settle disputes which have gone through the grievance procedure and have been referred to Arbitration. Some of these alternatives are Mediation / Arbitration, Modified or Expedited Arbitration and Mediation. If Expedited Arbitration is selected it will be in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 13.11.
13.11 Expedited Arbitration
Subject to the agreement of the Employer and the Union, expedited arbitration may be used following Step 3 of the Grievance Procedure. Both parties retain access to the complete arbitration process as described in Article 13 of the Agreement where either party does not agree to expedited arbitration.
- In any dispute over application, administration or alleged violation of the Agreement, the parties agree to submit a written brief and/or present oral argument to the sole arbitrator.
- The parties will present argument / rebuttal based on:
- issue(s)
- applicable provisions of the Collective Agreement
- general principle of arbitration case law which is applicable
- relevant arbitration awards / legislation / texts if applicable, and how they apply
- remedies requested
- The party bearing the onus of proof will proceed first and rebut if necessary.
- The parties by mutual agreement will decide whether or not to call witnesses or submit evidence.
- All decisions will be “without prejudice” to any other case(s) with no precedent value being applied to any other case.
- The parties agree that decisions arising out of these arbitrations will not be considered for judicial review.
- Where the parties mutually agree, any step of the process may be altered, if deemed necessary.