Queen’s IRC Custom Labour RelationsCertificate Program

A Customized Program for British Columbia’s Health Sector

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Labour Relations Certificate

Customized Training for DevelopingStrategic Labour Relations Professionals

The design of the Queen’s IRC Certificate inLabour Relations is based on our long-timeknowledge of the field, and tested throughongoing consultation with seasoned practitionersin both the private and public sectors. Whethermanagement or union, the curriculum reflects the range of skillsstrategic labour relations professionals require to thrive in their career.Labour relations professionals who already have a solid understandingof process and practice will benefit from this Certificate program, bydeveloping and honing their skills in the application of labour law,conflict resolution, grievance management, fact-finding andinvestigation, and labour arbitration.

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Program OutcomesAs a result of participating in theseprograms, participants will havethe capacity and confidence to actas Strategic Labour RelationsPractitioners, as demonstrated by:

• Enhanced in-house capacity for identifying, analyzing and addressing workplace-wide issues and problems

• Reduced time and legal costs for grievance handling and arbitration hearings

• Streamlined investigations with more reliable results

• Investigative reports that comply with statutory obligations

• Faster and more streamlined preparation for arbitration hearings

• Improved labour-management relations and well-grounded positions going into collective bargaining

Program OverviewThe Queen’s IRC Custom Labour Relations Certificate Program is a leading-edge program that enhances the capacity of labour relations professionals towork strategically to address labour issues and to develop more streamlinedand efficient practices for handling workplace conflicts. This customizedprogram reflects the complex environments in which government and healthcare operates today. Queen’s IRC’s hands-on, practitioner-focused approachdevelops the skills of the internal labour relations practitioner, and bringsvalue by increasing their knowledge of employment law, grievancemanagement, workplace investigations, and the arbitration process.

The Certificate Program curriculum is oriented to labour relationsprofessionals in the British Columbia Health Sector who want to furtherdevelop their abilities and confidently contribute to increasing the efficiencyof handling grievances and labour issues through all levels of the process.Each program is presented using a combination of lectures, groupdiscussions, hands-on simulations, case studies, and assessment tools. Uponcompletion of all three programs, participants will receive the prestigious andwidely recognized Queen’s IRC Labour Relations Certificate.

Knowledge and Skill Development Objectives

After participating in these programs, participants will:

• Be prepared for the rigours of strategically managing and investigating workplace conflict and complaints

• Develop techniques and processes to manage grievances efficiently

• Be able to prepare for and effectively present at an arbitration hearing

• Know how to plan an investigation, conduct interviews, handle difficult witnesses, and write an investigation report

• Understand and develop well-grounded responses to changing labour laws and legal issues

• Evaluate the big-picture and work towards long-term goals for solving systemic issues

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Program 1: Strategic Labour Relations Management (4 days)

The number of outstanding grievances is one of the most telling indicators of the state of labour relations in aunionized environment. Considering legal costs and reduced productivity, it is also a very expensive indicatorfor both unions and employers. Like taxes, grievances are impossible to avoid. But strategic practitioners canreduce their frequency. There are measures you can take before grievances are launched. There are measures youcan take during the grievance procedure, during mediation, and during the arbitration process to lessen theimpact on employees, the union, and the organization.

Strategic Labour Relations Management is a thoughtful approach to labour relations. It involves identifyingworkplace-wide issues and problems, then analyzing the way in which individual grievance management canaddress those issues. A long-term goal can then be developed for solving the systemic issues. You will comeaway from this program with the big-picture perspective, as well as the skills that you can use back at work toconfidently handle all steps in the grievance process.

In this session, participants will learn how to:

• Understand the context and purpose of a grievance

• Consider your options when a grievance is filed

• Prepare for and take control of the grievance meeting

• Deploy your skills most effectively during the grievance process

• Ensure successful grievance mediation

• Strategically choose mediation or arbitration as an option for resolution

• Conduct a grievance analysis before a round of collective bargaining

• Respond to the changing face of labour law and legal issues

• Diagnose when and how conflict escalates

• Design effective approaches to conflict resolution

Structure of the Program

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Program 2: Mastering Fact-Finding and Investigation (4 days)

According to research conducted by Queen’s IRC, today’s labour relations practitioners are spending an increasingamount of time — up to 20 percent of their efforts — conducting formal and informal investigations of workplacecomplaints. The complaints may relate to harassment, conflicts of interest, discrimination, whistle blowing, ormany other difficult types of cases, and are partly a response to tougher human rights and occupational health andsafety laws. But research also shows that many union representatives, HR managers, and LR practitioners feel they are inadequately prepared for the rigours of investigating complaints. This program gives LR practitionershands-on training on how to assemble the facts of a case without worsening the situation.

In this session, participants will learn how to:

• Pre-screen complaints and select the correct process

• Plan the investigation using a step-by-step guide

• Participate in a joint union-management investigation process

• Conduct effective interviews

• Handle difficult witnesses

• Gather and assess evidence

• Write an investigation report

Program 3: Labour Arbitration Skills (4 days)

Effective advocacy before an arbitrator requires the same blend of skills, street smarts, and techniques as advocacybefore a judge in a courtroom. It requires careful and extensive preparation before the hearing, concise openingstatements, organized and efficient presentation of evidence, and persuasive argument. Leading advocates andarbitrators will coach you through the preparation and presentation of a challenging arbitration case.

In this dynamic program, you will build presentation and advocacy skills and get immediate feedback from anexperienced arbitrator.

In this session, participants will learn how to:

• Prepare effectively for the hearing and develop the theory of the case

• Assess your opponent’s case

• Make opening and closing statements

• Examine and cross-examine effectively

• Establish the facts at the hearing

• Tender evidence and object to evidence

• Prepare and present a mock arbitration before an experienced arbitrator

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Elaine Newman (Strategic Labour Relations)

Elaine Newman, BA, LL.B., LL.M., was called to the bar in Ontario in 1979. Elaine is a very experienced full-time arbitrator and mediator, specializing in labour relations, employment, and human rights matters.She is a teacher, an author, and frequent speaker on labour, employment and human rights issues.

Elaine served as Associate Director of the LLM program in Labour Relations and Employment Law atOsgoode Hall Law School 2002 to 2008. She was lead instructor for the Advanced Dispute Resolution Courseat Atkinson Faculty, York University for ten years, where she taught the Ethics of Mediation course, and the

Advanced Practicum course. She is a frequent guest speaker at Queen’s University Industrial Relations Centre (IRC), and is leadinstructor of the Queen’s IRC’s Strategic Grievance Handling program.

Elaine is the author of the online course, “Practical Ethics for Working Mediators”, offered by the ADR Institute of Ontario. Hertextbook, Preventing Violence in the Workplace, is published by Lancaster House, Toronto.

Anne Grant (Mastering Fact Finding and Investigation)

Anne Grant has practised as a full-time mediator and conflict resolution professional since 1994. Anne’sdispute resolution practice includes extensive mediation of labour and civil disputes. She specializes in theassessment and restoration of poisoned work environments as well as conducting a range of workplaceinvestigations. Currently, she is President of the ADR Institute of Ontario, and lead facilitator for the Queen’sIRC Labour Relations Foundations and Mastering Fact-Finding and Investigation programs.

Anne is qualified in nursing, law, mediation and labour relations. She holds the national designation ofChartered Mediator and obtained her Masters-in-Law in ADR from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1997. In 2007, she was awardedthe Ontario Bar Association’s annual Award of Excellence in ADR.

Anne is published provincially and nationally in the areas of ADR and legal issues in health care. She is co-author of A Nurses’Practical Guide to the Law (Canada Law Book 1997), and Dispute Resolution in the Insurance Industry, (Canada Law Book 2001).Prior to practising mediation, she practised labour law, health care lobbying and peri-operative nursing.

Deborah Leighton (Labour Arbitration Skills)

Professor Deborah Leighton is a member of the faculty of the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University,teaching in the Master of Industrial Relations program since 1994. She has been a labour mediator andarbitrator since 1992, and has been a named arbitrator for many parties including Air Canada and ACPA,University of Toronto and CUPE, and the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT-Academic)and OPSEU.

In addition to her private practice as a mediator and arbitrator, Deborah has acted in these roles for a numberof public boards. She has been a Vice-Chair at the Ontario Crown Employees' Grievance Settlement Board since 1996, and a Vice-Chair at the Ontario Public Service Grievance Board since 1992. She served two terms as an Adjudicator, for the Ontario HumanRights Tribunal between 1992 and 1998.

Deborah's education includes a BA in Law from Oxford University, and an LLM from the University of Texas at Austin.

Program Delivery

The roster of speakers may change. We will do our best to keep you informed of program changes.

Modules are delivered through Queen’s IRC and their facilitators and instruction affiliates. Primary facilitatorsand speakers include: Elaine Newman, Anne Grant and Deborah Leighton. Each program will also includeguest speakers and/or coaches.

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Schedule

The IRC Certificate Program operates on a fiscal calendar year. Each program will be offered once per year, withadditional sessions scheduled as required.

Program Dates

Program 1: Strategic Labour Relations Management (4 days) – October 5-8, 2015

Program 2: Mastering Fact-Finding and Investigation (4 days) – January 26-29, 2016

Program 3: Labour Arbitration Skills (4 days) – April 26-29, 2016

Learning and Application Assessment

Each program provides participants with intensive labour relations training and knowledge, including skill-buildingexercises and simulations. Participants will be able to apply their learnings as soon as they return to work.

Program Management and Oversight

The structure and management of the Certificate Program is owned by Queen’s University IRC and will take placeby invitation at the British Columbia Nurses’ Union Education Centre in Burnaby, BC.

BCNU ContactFrank MorganFmorgan@bcnu.caTel: 604-433-2268 ext. 2317 | 1-800-663-9991 | Cell: 604-219-4168

Queen’s IRC ContactStephanie NoëlBusiness Development Managerstephanie.noel@queensu.ca Tel: (613) 533-6000 ext. 77088

irc.queensu.ca

For more information on this program, please contact:

Stephanie NoëlBusiness Development ManagerQueen's University IRCKingston, ONTel: (613) 533-6000 ext. 77088E-mail: stephanie.noel@queensu.ca