Conflict with a Colleague

Occa­sion­al­ly, con­flicts between URFA col­leagues may arise in the work­place. When fac­ing a con­flict, URFA mem­bers are encour­aged to con­tact URFA as soon as pos­si­ble. By work­ing active­ly to resolve con­flicts when they occur, we can cre­ate a more pos­i­tive work envi­ron­ment for every­one. A copy of URFA’s mem­ber-to-mem­ber con­flict pro­ce­dures is avail­able online. The pro­ce­dures pro­vide URFA mem­bers with a process that:

• Pro­tects their infor­ma­tion and ensures con­fi­den­tial­i­ty in the intake process;
• Pro­vides sep­a­rate rep­re­sen­ta­tion and infor­ma­tion gath­er­ing services;
• Pro­vides all mem­bers with access to con­fi­den­tial advice and rep­re­sen­ta­tion dur­ing any inves­ti­ga­tion or dis­pute res­o­lu­tion process;
• Pro­vides mem­bers with access to a fair and impar­tial inves­ti­ga­tion that assess­es the rel­a­tive mer­its of the com­pet­ing claims

The fol­low­ing are answers to some ques­tions that URFA mem­bers may have when deal­ing with a con­flict in the work­place that involves anoth­er URFA member.

I have a com­plaint regard­ing a con­flict with anoth­er URFA col­league. What do I do?

If you are fac­ing a con­flict with anoth­er URFA mem­ber, please con­tact URFA as soon as pos­si­ble. This will help to ensure a time­ly res­o­lu­tion that works in everyone’s best inter­est. URFA will imme­di­ate­ly assign a staff rep­re­sen­ta­tive or des­ig­nate to rep­re­sent the inter­ests of the com­plainant under their col­lec­tive agree­ment and to pro­vide the appro­pri­ate sup­port. The assigned rep­re­sen­ta­tive will han­dle the com­plaint with com­plete confidentiality .

I have a con­flict with anoth­er URFA col­league, but I’m not sure that I want to file a complaint

The best course of action is still to con­tact URFA. An URFA staff rep­re­sen­ta­tive will be able to help you and rec­om­mend a prop­er course of action.

How can I ensure that my con­fi­den­tial­i­ty is pro­tect­ed while a com­plaint is investigated?

All com­plaints are referred to the URFA Exec­u­tive Direc­tor or des­ig­nate who will ensure that appro­pri­ate steps are being tak­en to pro­tect infor­ma­tion and main­tain confidentiality.

How does URFA ensure that the inves­ti­ga­tion into the com­plaint is fair?

All mem­bers have the right to the pre­sump­tion of inno­cence while a com­plaint is being inves­ti­gat­ed and retain the rights grant­ed under their col­lec­tive agree­ment. The Fac­ul­ty Asso­ci­a­tion will not act to deter­mine the guilt or inno­cence of the accused, but will act to ensure a fair and impar­tial inves­ti­ga­tion that assess­es the rel­a­tive mer­its of the com­pet­ing claims. Any deter­mi­na­tions will be made accord­ing to the pro­vi­sions of our col­lec­tive agree­ments and/​or accord­ing to the applic­a­ble laws of the jurisdiction.

All com­plaints are imme­di­ate­ly referred to the URFA Exec­u­tive Direc­tor or des­ig­nate who will be charged with ensur­ing that rep­re­sen­ta­tives are pro­vid­ing fair rep­re­sen­ta­tion to the mem­bers involved.

What do I do if a com­plaint is made against me by anoth­er member?

As men­tioned, all URFA mem­bers have the right to the pre­sump­tion of inno­cence while a com­plaint is being inves­ti­gat­ed and retain the rights grant­ed under their col­lec­tive agree­ment. All URFA mem­bers also have the right to fair rep­re­sen­ta­tion. URFA will also assign a dif­fer­ent staff rep­re­sen­ta­tive or des­ig­nate for the mem­ber whom a com­plaint has been made against to ensure they are fair­ly rep­re­sent­ed through­out the entire process.

What hap­pens dur­ing the investigation?

A Fac­ul­ty Asso­ci­a­tion rep­re­sen­ta­tive or des­ig­nate assigned by the Fac­ul­ty Asso­ci­a­tion to each par­ty in the dis­pute will col­lect what­ev­er infor­ma­tion is nec­es­sary to pro­vide appro­pri­ate assis­tance to and pro­tect the inter­ests of each of the respec­tive par­ties. The Fac­ul­ty Asso­ci­a­tion rep­re­sen­ta­tive will be avail­able to pro­vide sup­port to the com­plainant and/​or respon­dent in all inter­ac­tions with the employ­er and col­league with­in the terms of applic­a­ble pol­i­cy and pro­vi­sions of their col­lec­tive agreement.

How long will the inves­ti­ga­tion take, and how long will it take to reach a resolution?

Time­lines vary depend­ing on the type of con­flict and res­o­lu­tion process, how­ev­er, URFA will take what­ev­er steps it can to com­pel the employ­er to deal with the member’s com­plaint in a time­ly man­ner, as well as to enforce the right of the mem­ber­ship to work in a safe and healthy environment.

Still have questions?

Con­tact URFA and a union staff rep­re­sen­ta­tive will be assigned to assist you. A copy of URFAs mem­ber-to mem­ber con­flict pro­ce­dure is also avail­able online.