9.01       Shop Stewards, all of whom shall be regular employees of the Company, shall be elected by the Union and recognized by the Company. There shall be one [1] Shop Steward tentatively for each department.

9.02       There shall be a Grievance Committee, consisting of up to three employees designated by the Union, who are actually then in the employ of the Company, and who will be afforded such reasonable time off as may be required to attend meetings held at the request of the Management or the Grievance Committee.

9.03       The Union agrees to advise the Company of the names of members of the Grievance Committee and Shop Stewards, in writing, and also of any changes from time to time.

9.04       In case a grievance arises, the parties will make an honest effort to settle the differences by proceeding through the following steps until the grievance is settled or otherwise disposed of.

STEP 1
The aggrieved employee shall notify his Shop Steward if a grievance arises who shall immediately request time off from his Foreman to discuss the matter if it is urgent. If the case is not urgent then the Shop Steward with or without the aggrieved person shall take up the matter with the Foreman at the end of the shift. Failing a satisfactory settlement the grievance shall be put in writing and submitted to the Foreman of the employee involved within five [5] working days from the time the grievance arose. The Foreman shall provide a written answer within twenty-four [24] hours (Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays excluded). If this answer is not satisfactory or if no answer is received by the Union, the next step of the grievance procedure may be invoked.

STEP 2
The grievance shall be submitted within forty-eight [48] hours to the next level of Management. Within five [5] working days the grievance will be discussed and resolved, or a written answer will be provided and if it is not resolved or if no answer is received by the Union the grievance may proceed to Step 3.

STEP 3
The grievance shall be submitted within forty-eight [48] hours to the Manager or his nominee. Within five [5] working days the grievance will be discussed with the Grievance Committee with an additional representative of the Union if desired, or a written answer will be provided and if it is not resolved or if no answer is received by the Union the grievance may proceed to Arbitration.

9.05       Grievance involving discharge shall be placed in writing and dealt with by starting at Step 3.

9.06       The time limits specified in Steps 1, 2, and 3 may be extended by written agreement between the parties. The Chairman of the Grievance Committee, on behalf of the Union, or the Manager, on behalf of the Company, may file a policy grievance at Step 3 of the Grievance Procedure. A policy grievance is defined as a dispute between the Union and the Company concerning the interpretation, application, operation or alleged violation of the Agreement, including whether or not a matter is arbitrable.

ARBITRATION

9.07       Any grievance which has been properly processed through the preceding steps of the Grievance Procedure without being settled may be submitted within thirty [30] days of receiving an answer in Step 3 to an Arbitration Board composed of one [1] representative chosen by the Union and one [1] representative chosen by the Company and an impartial arbitrator who shall act as Chairman of the Board. At the time that either party serves notice, in writing, of its intention to proceed to arbitration it shall, at the same time, notify the other party of the name of its representative. The other party shall appoint its representative within five [5] days of receiving written notice and these two representatives shall agree on a person to act as Chairman. If they fail to agree, within a further five [5] days from the appointment of the second representative, the Minister of Labour of British Columbia shall appoint the Chairman.

9.08       The Arbitration Board shall be requested to render a decision within a period of one [1] month following the constitution of the Board. The majority decision of the Board shall be final and binding on both parties to this Agreement. The Board shall not have any jurisdiction to alter or change any of the provisions of this Agreement nor to substitute any new provisions in lieu thereof.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, during the course of establishing an Arbitration Board, either party may notify the other party of its desire to have the grievance heard by a sole arbitrator. In such an event, the grievance shall be heard by a sole arbitrator, provided that the parties can agree that the matter should be dealt with in that manner, and further that the parties can agree on the selection of a Chairman. Should the parties be unable to agree to the foregoing, the grievance shall be dealt with in the manner otherwise established in this Article. A sole arbitrator if agreed upon shall have the same powers and authority as an Arbitration Board established under this Article.

9.09       Each of the parties shall bear the expenses of the Arbitrator appointed by it and the parties will jointly bear the expenses of the Chairman.

INDUSTRY TROUBLESHOOTER

9.10       Where a difference arises between the parties relation to the dismissal, discipline. or suspension of an employee, or the interpretation, application, operation, or alleged violation of this Collective Agreement, including any question as to whether the matter is arbitral, during the term of the Collective Agreement, a Troubleshooter mutually agreed to by the parties, shall at the request of either party:

1. Investigate the difference;
2. Define the issue in the difference and;
3. Make written recommendations to resolve the difference.

Any recommendations issued by the Troubleshooter shall not be binding unless mutually agreed to by the parties prior to commencement.

NO STRIKES OR LOCKOUTS

9.11       There shall be no strikes or lock-outs as long as this Agreement continues to operate.