Advisory Report on Civilian Grievance Process
Table of Contents
Alternate Formats
Assistant Deputy Minister (Review Services)
- ADM(HR-Civ)
- Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources - Civilian)
- ADM(RS)
- Assistant Deputy Minister (Review Services)
- ADR
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- CA
- Canadian Army
- CAF
- Canadian Armed Forces
- CBSA
- Canada Border Services Agency
- CSC
- Correctional Service of Canada
- DCLR
- Director Civilian Labour Relations
- DFO
- Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- DGWM
- Director General Workplace Management
- DND
- Department of National Defence
- DSPA
- Director of Strategic Planning and Accountability
- DTHRC
- Defence Team Human Resource Committee
- HRMS
- Human Resource Management System
- ICCM
- Integrated Conflict and Complaint Management
- L1
- Level 1 (ADM equivalent)
- LRO
- Labour Relations Officer
- MILPERSCOM
- Military Personnel Command
- NJC
- National Joint Council
- OCI
- Office of Collateral Interest
- OGD
- Other Government Departments
- OPI
- Office of Primary Interest
- PSES
- Public Service Employee Survey
- UNDE
- Union of National Defence Employees
- VCDS
- Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
Figure 1 Details – DND Civilian Grievance Process (Labour Relation Grievances Only)
Figure 2 Details – Number of Third Level Grievances
Table 1 Details – PSES 2017 Grievance Data
- In some instances, another recourse mechanism (e.g., National Joint Council Grievances, Human Rights Complaints) was taken:
- If the harassment route is taken over the grievance process, the data is handled differently as every ADM/L1 organization inputs their own data
See Recommendations #2 and #5.
* Sources provided by ADM(HR-Civ) dashboard, data has not been validated by Assistant Deputy Minister (Review Services) (ADM(RS))
CAF Grievance Process
The CAF Grievance process has significantly evolved since the 2015 External Review Report on the Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the CAF
- Operation HONOUR was developed to support the implementation of 10 recommendations from the External Review Report
- Operation HONOUR is one of the four initiatives identified in Canada’s defence policy: Strong, Secure, Engaged focused on eliminating harmful behaviours and ensuring a work environment free from harassment and discrimination
As a result, there has been a significant investment into the education and prevention of misconduct as well as into avenues for which individuals can seek advice and support, including but not limited to:
- Military grievance user-friendly portal that provides thorough information and guidance to all involved parties with detailed steps, forms, policies and directives related to the military grievance process;
- Integrated Conflict and Complaint Management (ICCM) group which is a one-stop shop mandated in the CAF to listen and guide the affected person as to where and how to proceed to resolve the issue;
- ICCM system that integrates the previously separate conflict resolution information systems for harassment, grievances, human rights and ADR to provide data and information for decision making; and
- Sixteen Conflict Complaint Management Service centres that opened in July 2018 to provide further guidance and support to all affected stakeholders
CAF vs DND Grievance Process
- Different approach in military and civilian grievance processes
| Approach | CAF | DND |
|---|---|---|
| Final Level Accountability | Chief of the Defence Staff (With findings and recommendations from the Military Grievance External Review Committee) |
DGWM (ADM(HR-Civ)) |
| Levels | 2 | 3 |
| Assistance to complainant | YES (Assistance provided to member throughout) |
YES (Assistance from Union Representative is available upon request) |
| NO (for excluded/non-represented employees) |
||
| Alternative Dispute Resolution | YES (Integrated Conflict and Complaint Management) |
YES |
| Information System | Complaint Management Services (Integrated system for various complaints and grievances) |
HRMS and Excel (For labour relations related grievances) |
| User Interface | Self-help portal for all stakeholders (User-friendly portal with guidance on various conflicting situations, list of agents, guides, forms, policies) |
DND Intranet Site |
| On-going support | 16 centres for Conflict Complaint Management Services | 16 centres are for CAF members but accept DND Civilians |
Table 2 Details – CAF vs DND Grievance Process
Table 3 Details – Other Government Departments Have Similar Challenges
Notable Practice
In June 2018, ADM(HR-Civ) implemented a Sensitive Case Management Sub-Committee through Defence Team Human Resources Committee to engage senior management (ADMs/L1s) in oversight and management of serious grievance cases.
Figure 3 Details – Pilot Civilian Grievance Process
Table 4 Details – Current Options - Summary
Table A-1 Details – Types of Recourse Mechanisms
Table B-1 Details – Analysis of 2017 PSES results (DND vs OGDs)
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