When you believe there has been violation of the Collective Agreement, or if you have other employment related concerns, you should contact MUNFA as soon as possible to explore your options for redress. MUNFA may suggest filing an individual grievance on your behalf to protect your rights as outlined in the Collective Agreement. Contacting MUNFA as soon as possible is vital as there is a twenty-five (working) day deadline for filing a grievance (see Article 19 for more information).
Before a grievance is filed, you may present the complaint to your Administrative Head within 20 working days for informal resolution (see Clause 19.03). If the informal resolution process is unsuccessful, the matter can be referred to the Academic Freedom and Grievance (AF&G) Committee for grievance consideration.
Depending on the issue, you may request that the AF&G Committee consider a grievance without an attempt at informal resolution as outlined in Clause 19.03.
In order for the matter to be considered for a grievance, you will need to complete a grievance intake form and consent to disclosure form. MUNFA staff will follow-up with you to ensure all relevant information is provided.
If the AF&G Committee considers the grievance to be justified, a Step 1 grievance letter will be sent to your Administrative Head. The Step 1 letter advises the University that MUNFA is filing a grievance on your behalf.
Once the Step 1 letter is sent, a grievance resolution meeting will be scheduled. This meeting is attended by the assigned AF&G Case Officers, the Administrative Head and Faculty Relations representatives.
Following the Step 1 meeting, the University will formally respond in writing. You will be sent a copy of the response and asked for your comments for the AF&G Committee’s consideration.
If the University’s response is satisfactory and the remedy offered (if applicable) is acceptable, MUNFA will withdraw the grievance. If not, the grievance will proceed to Step 2 of the grievance procedures and the President is notified in writing. Similar to the Step 1 process, a Step 2 grievance meeting is convened for further discussion and a University President’s representative attends the meeting. The University then provides a written Step 2 response and you will be sent a copy of the response and asked for your comments.
If the University’s response and remedy offered are accepted, MUNFA will withdraw the grievance. If not, the AF&G Case Officers may submit a recommendation to proceed to arbitration for the Executive Committee consideration.
