The long battle at the GSB regarding the asbestos case from Mimico was finally settled yesterday. The grievance was first filed in 2004, as a group and policy grievances. The highlights of the settlement are;
- a tracking system for employees who worked at Mimico;
- Asbestos training for members across the Ministry;
- Asbestos monitoring and reports to be provided to all Local H&S committees and to the Provincial Committee.
The employer has admitted it breached the Regulations relating to asbestos and the health and safety provisions of the Collective Agreement. It has not admitted any wrong doing or liability. That said the employer agreed to general damages to be paid to the Union. The money is spoken to in the settlement as to how the union will handle the money. This was done to avoid the money going into the unions general revenues and not coming back to the affected grievors as has happened in the past.
The money will be handled in two ways.
1. $ 60,000 will be paid to the estate of Terry Pollock as general damages;
2. $ 20,000 will be paid as general damages to the union, in trust, for an annual Scholarship fund for the children of OPSEU members. This trust fund is to be named in honour of Curt Bishop who was very compassionate about this issue and worked many hours on this case.
This is a good settlement as it protects future members H&S, tacks members who have been exposed to asbestos, and penalizes the employer for breaching the act and collective agreement.
We will be lobbying the union to contribute to the found and set up a committee to administer what is now the Curt Bishop Scholarship Found.
I want to thank all the people who worked on this grievance file over the years including; Greg McVeigh; John McEwen; Dave Graves; our council John Brewen, our Lisa McCaskell, Teri Aversa; members of the provincial H &S committee.
In solidarity
Dan Sidsworth
