Grievance arbitration also called rights arbitration is one of two core areas of arbitration in Canada namely:

• Interest Arbitration
• Rights Arbitration

Interest Arbitration involves disputes regarding the establishment of the terms and conditions of a collective bargaining agreement.

Rights arbitration involves disputes concerning the interpretation of an existing collective agreement.

Steps Taken Before Going to Arbitration

Not every grievance goes to arbitration. Only those grievances that cannot be resolved, through the organization's internal grievance procedure, go to arbitration.

Collective bargaining agreements usually makes allowance for an internal grievance procedure, a process consisting of a number of steps in which the grievance will be reviewed at successively higher levels of the organization.

At any stage the grievance can be settled or withdrawn, but if the matter cannot be resolved, it can be heard before a neutral arbitrator or arbitration board. The decisions arrived at through arbitration are binding on both parties and becomes part of the collective agreement.

Research has shown that the vast majority of grievances are settled short of arbitration.

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