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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <title>Guidelines</title> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/theme/njc/img/favicon.png" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/bootstrap-5/css/bootstrap.min.css?_nocache=1633790663" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/bootstrap-5/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css?_nocache=1648585255" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/fontawesome/css/all.min.css?_nocache=1601923854" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/css/njc-icons.css?_nocache=1486676260" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/css/njc-style.css?_nocache=1739980365" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/js/smartmenus/css/sm-core-css.css?_nocache=1595527398" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/js/smartmenus/addons/bootstrap-4/jquery.smartmenus.bootstrap-4.css?_nocache=1595527398" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/css/njc-menus.css?_nocache=1646924934" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/css/bootstrap-datetimepicker.min.css?_nocache=1485197974" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/css/njc-overrides.css?_nocache=1473775352" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/css/directives.css?_nocache=1715023638" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/css/decisions.css?_nocache=1486131842" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/css/communiques.css?_nocache=1682009529" ><link rel="stylesheet" href="/theme/njc/css/headings.css?_nocache=1487707402" > <link href="https://cdn.datatables.net/v/bs5/dt-2.0.3/fc-5.0.0/fh-4.0.1/r-3.0.1/sc-2.4.1/datatables.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#930042">  <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Montserrat:400,700" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lato:400,700,400italic,700italic" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">    </head> <body id="page-top" class="index "> <div class="d-none d-print-block print-title" role="navigation" aria-hidden="true"> <h1>National Joint Council</h1> </div> <div class="d-print-none navbar navbar-light navbar-expand-lg navbar-default main-header" role="navigation"> <div class="container position-relative"> <div class="navbar-header"> <div class="d-flex align-items-center"> <div><a href="/en" class="navbar-brand"><img src="/theme/njc/img/logo.svg" alt="National Joint Council" height="100%"></a></div> <div class="site-title pl-3"><h2>National Joint Council</h2></div> </div> </div> <button class="navbar-toggler btn-sm collapsed" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target="#main-site-nav" aria-controls="main-site-nav" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation"> <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span> </button> <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="main-site-nav"> <div> <div class="search-box abs-top-right mt-md-2 mb-2 d-flex justify-content-center justify-md-content-end"> <form action="/search/en" role="search" method="get"> <div class="input-group"> <a href="/s2/s35/fr" class="btn btn-default">Fran莽ais</a> <input type="search" name="q" value="" class="form-control" placeholder="Search NJC Site"> <button class="btn btn-primary" type="submit">Search</button> </div> </form> </div> <div class="abs-bottom-right"> <ul class="nav navbar-nav"> <li class="nav-item dropdown sid-18"><a href="/s18/en" class="nav-link dropdown-toggle">About Us</a><ul class="dropdown-menu"><li class=" dropdown sid-8"><a href="/s18/s8/en" class="dropdown-item dropdown-toggle">What's New?</a><ul class="dropdown-menu"><li class=" sid-104"><a href="/s18/s8/s104/en" class="dropdown-item ">Gen Sec Annual Report - 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Change in Grievance Practice</a></li><li class=" sid-35"><a href="/s2/s35/en" class="dropdown-item ">Guidelines</a></li><li class=" sid-37"><a href="/s2/s37/en" class="dropdown-item ">Grievance Process and Procedures</a></li></ul></li><li class="nav-item dropdown sid-0"><a href="#" class="nav-link dropdown-toggle">More</a><ul class="dropdown-menu"><li class=" sid-24"><a href="/s24/en" class="dropdown-item ">Publications</a></li><li class=" sid-27"><a href="/communique/en" class="dropdown-item ">NJC Communiqu茅s</a></li><li class=" sid-81"><a href="/s81/en" class="dropdown-item ">LMCC</a></li><li class=" sid-20"><a href="/s20/en" class="dropdown-item ">Links</a></li></ul></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container-md main-content" id="main-page"> <div class="breadcrumbs"> <a href="/en">Home</a> » <a href="/s2/en">NJC Grievances</a> » <a href="/s2/s35/en">Guidelines</a> </div> <div class="page-header"><h1>Guidelines</h1></div><div class="page-content new-list-styles"><p>The NJC grievance process is a very successful example of alternate dispute resolution which has been in place for many years. At the final level, the process has two distinctive and innovative features:</p> <p>The criterion for reviewing grievances is the <strong>intent of the directive</strong>. Final level hearings are fact-finding inquiries designed to discover whether an employee has been treated within the intent of the NJC directive. This contrasts with formal adjudication under the <em>Public Service Labour Relations Act</em> where the test more often is the meaning of the words in a collective agreement.</p> <p>Who better to determine intent than the parties who were responsible for the directive in the first place? At a final level NJC hearing, committee members from <strong>both</strong> management and bargaining agent sides who <strong>co-developed</strong> the directive weigh whether or not the directive has been applied as they intended. While there is sometimes disagreement between the parties about intent, much more often both sides reach consensus about how an employee should have been treated. This process is very different from conventional final level hearings where only one side --- management --- hears and decides the issue.</p> <p>The <strong><em>Guidelines to Committees Reviewing and Hearing Grievances</em></strong> was first published by the National Joint Council in 2002. Its purpose then and now is to help committee members聽to understand the NJC grievance process and the procedures used in conducting NJC final level grievance hearings. We hope these Guidelines assist all involved to ensure the continued success of the NJC grievance process.</p> <p>The <strong><em>NJC Grievance Referral Guide for Labour Relations Practitioners</em></strong> was developed in 2013 after receiving requests from the Labour Relations Community for more information about the grievance process at the NJC.聽 Our hope is that this Guide will provide practitioners with the necessary tools to better prepare for the final level of the NJC's grievance procedure.聽 As this product is evergreen, we encourage you to send us your comments should you feel that the Guide requires clarification.聽 Our thanks go out to those of you who provided feedback during the development phase.</p><ul class="child-files"><li><a href="/s2/s35/d721/en">Guidelines to Committees Reviewing and Hearing Grievances</a></li><li><a href="/s2/s35/d600/en">National Joint Council Grievance Referral Guide for Labour Relations Practitioners</a></li></ul></div> </div> <div class="container-fluid site-footer"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-4 text-center"> © 2025 National Joint Council </div> <div class="col-md-4 text-center"> <a href="/d65/en">Important Notices</a> | <a href="https://www.canada.ca">Canada.ca</a> </div> <div class="col-md-4 text-center"> <a href="/s19/en">Contact Us</a> | <a href="/en">Home</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script src="/theme/njc/bootstrap-5/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js?_nocache=1633790663" ></script><script src="/theme/njc/js/jquery-3.6.0.min.js?_nocache=1644962952" ></script><script src="/theme/njc/js/moment.js?_nocache=1457634357" ></script><script src="/theme/njc/js/bootstrap-datetimepicker.min.js?_nocache=1648748775" ></script><script src="/theme/njc/js/font-spy.js?_nocache=1487693893" ></script><script src="/theme/njc/js/smartmenus/jquery.smartmenus.min.js?_nocache=1595527398" ></script><script src="/theme/njc/js/smartmenus/addons/bootstrap-4/jquery.smartmenus.bootstrap-4.js?_nocache=1645136528" ></script><script src="/theme/njc/js/njc.theme.js?_nocache=1715023601" ></script><script src="https://cdn.datatables.net/v/bs5/dt-2.0.3/fc-5.0.0/fh-4.0.1/r-3.0.1/sc-2.4.1/datatables.min.js"></script> <script> jQuery('.make-datatable').each(function(){ let $t = jQuery(this); $t.css('width','100%'); $t.DataTable({fixedHeader:true}); }); </script> <script>(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');ga('create', 'UA-13177002-1', 'auto');ga('send', 'pageview');</script> </body> </html>