The Crown Employees Grievance Settlement Board (GSB) has ruled in favour of OPSEU in a key settlement on personal privacy in the workplace.
OPSEU filed the grievance on the behalf of a health and safety inspector with the Ministry of Labour, alleging that the Government of Ontario had illegally obtained, disclosed and disseminated private Canada Police Information Centre (CPIC) employee records without the knowledge or consent of the employees.
OPSEU President, Warren (Smokey) Thomas responded to the GSB victory saying “Enforcement officers are being betrayed by the very people they work for. They’re told to go out and enforce Provincial laws while their
bosses are going behind their backs to illegally obtain private information about them.”
“Our members would be fired if they breached the privacy act the way the government has done,” said Thomas.
This important decision sets out clear limits on the right of the Ministry to share personal and private information.
There are 17 ministries in the Ontario Public Service involved in enforcement activities.
