Agreed Statement of Facts
The Labour Services Division of Nova Scotia Labour and Workforce Development is pleased to now be assisting the Labour Management Forum with the administration of the Non-Binding Arbitration Program. This change is effective immediately.
Introduction
In order to expedite the process of non-binding arbitraiton, the parties are required to prepare an agreed statement of facts
.
An agreed statement of facts is an agreement, written and signed by the parties, setting out what in fact occurred that gave rise to the grievance. It is prepared jointly by the parties and it is then forwarded to the Labour Services Division, who in turn forwards it to each of the panellists. This gives the panellists an advantage in understanding the facts of the case without having to listen to two or more versions of the incident giving rise to the grievance. It focusses the issue in dispute at the beginning of the hearing and also prevents the panellists from taking a view of the facts that differs from the party's expectations.
Even if the parties can only agree on some of the facts, the process is expedited and still enhanced. The objective is to ensure that all of the participants, as well as the panellists, know the exact substance of each party's position.
The Statement (A Guide for Preparation)
The agreed statement of facts should be based on answering as many of the following questions as possible:
- what are the details of the incident grieved ( be brief and accurate);
- when did the incident take place (date, time);
- who all were involved in the incident (name all of the participants or witnesses to the incident);
- where did the incident take place;
- how did the incident arise.
See a sample format (PDF: 7k)