Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Another in a continuing series of articles & handouts that will be of interest to PSAC stewards … read more of them in the Steward’s Network section of the site.

Do you have any rights when your employer tells you that you are to be present at some type of disciplinary meeting? Read the following resource document and see what the established principles are regarding this issue.

Collective agreement language describing rights to union representation in matters of discipline varies in its strength and scope. Most collective agreements covering PSAC members contain a provision providing an employee with the right to union representation at the time s/he is interviewed regarding allegations of misconduct, or alternatively, at the time discipline is imposed. Some agreements oblige the employer to remind the employee of his/her rights to representation. Or, an employer may be required to notify both the union and the employee in advance of the meeting, and to indicate its purpose. The employer may be required to furnish grounds to an employee prior to imposing a disciplinary measure. Other language refers to time limits for placing items of a disciplinary nature on an employee’s file, and notifying the employee of whether or not the file will be used at the meeting.

The scope of representational rights is found in the precise wording of the collective agreement.

Read more in the Discipline - Rights to Union Representation (pdf) document, prepared by the PSAC education section.