Canadian Labour Reporter - sample

8 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 May 14, 2018 ARBITRATION AWARDS becoming a professor, he said it was mandatory that his position included clerical support. He said two days per week was sufficient to meet his needs and he would not accept a job without it. During the time he was being courted by the institution, Attaran had applied for a Canada Research Chair (CRC). He received the CRC in 2005, after he was hired. In 2006, Belinda Smith was hired to provide two days per week of clerical support for At- taran. But in 2010, Bruce Feldthusen, dean of law, sent a letter to Luc Gauthier, acting director of the Institute of Population Health (IPH) at the university, expressing concern about which department was responsible for paying Smith's salary. Eventually, the matter was par- tially settled and Gauthier advised Attaran via email that: "I was able to get approval to extend Belinda's current contract until the end of January 2016." Due to his CRC expiring, At- taran was also asked if he would he still require clerical support and the professor said he still needed it due to his workload, which in- cluded regular work at the Ecojus- tice environmental law clinic. On May 11, 2017, Smith re- ceived a final extension of em- ployment that would expire on June 30, 2019. Gauthier testified that in 2015, the IPH shut down and the funds for the clerical support could no longer come out of IPH's budget. (Attaran was hired as part of the IPH). Laroque testified that because no other professor enjoyed this type of arrangement, Attaran's contract would be amended and he would have to use the same clerical staff employed by the other professors. Attaran would no longer be allowed to have a dedicated staff member assigned to him. Laroque also said that Attaran's relationship with Ecojustice pro- vided him with the necessary ad- ministrative support. On Nov. 2, 2016, the union, the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO), grieved the denial of clerical sup- port for Attaran. It argued the uni- versity must honour the original agreement and it cannot unilat- erally end the clerical support provision. The university argued that At- taran's clerical support was only tied to the CRC, which ended, and, in any case, the terms of the LOA could be terminated with notice, which it had provided. Arbitrator Sydney Baxter dis- agreed and allowed the grievance. "I do not find that (Attaran's) benefit of dedicated part-time clerical support, as contained in his LOA, is inconsistent with the terms of the collective agreement." "The university is not permit- ted to bring an end to the (At- taran's) clerical support by way of notice," said Baxter. The argument that Attaran's LOA contradicted the collective agreement, which provided for more general clerical support, was rejected by the arbitrator. "A careful review of the LOA reveals nothing that speaks to the university's ability to put an end to the provisions in the LOA dealing with clerical support. Unlike the terms of the collective agreement, which are for fixed periods of time before coming up for renewal, the LOA contains no such provision. (Attaran), unlike the association, lost all bargaining power once he was hired by the university," said Baxter. Despite what the university said, according to Baxter, At- taran's workload has not de- creased after the expiration of the CRC. "The only evidence ad- duced by the university in this re- gard consisted of Dean Laroques' comment on the current level of (Attaran's) research in answer to a question put to him during cross-examination, when he re- plied that he could not say that he had a detailed understanding of (Attaran's) research." Reference: The University of Ottawa and the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa. Sydney Baxter — arbitrator. Daphne Fedoruk for the employer. Sean McGee for the employee. April 23, 2018. 2018 CarswellOnt 6766 the driver about her appearance during a Calgary Stampede break- fast at work and said, "You think the rules don't apply to you. You are going to get what you ask for given how you dress and appear." She left the meeting in tears, but then reported the incident to Schinnour. After Wright denied the comments, the driver made secret recordings of her future interactions with her cellphone. The woman also befriended one of her male coworkers which led to rumours that the pair (who were both married at the time) were having an affair. One time when she drove into the yard, another cowork- er broadcast a message over the radio: "That's our driver… She is having an affair with (name of co-worker she was friends with)." After she complained to Wright, he claimed he issued a verbal warning to the offending coworker. Later, the driver heard Wright say he believed the ru- mours were true. Also, Schinnour berated the pair during a break together and accused them of hav- ing "date time" together. On another occasion, the driv- er told Wright and Schinnour that she felt undue pressure (that wasn't placed on any of the other drivers) to maintain a seven-load- per-day goal. She said that due to traffic, weather and other factors, sometimes drivers could only make five or six loads per day. If other drivers consistently made the goal, it might suggest they were driving unsafely, she suggested to her supervisors. On June 4, 2015, the union, Canadian Union of Public Em- ployees (CUPE), Local 37 filed a grievance alleging ongoing ha- rassment. The driver took some time off due to stress and anxiety and on June 9, she left again and has since not returned to work. The union asked for $375,000 in damages for three separate vio- lations of discrimination, harass- ment and marginalization. Desmond Kary, HR employee, carried out the first investigation. On July 27, he interviewed her and she said she had some recordings to back up her side of the case. But Kary never followed up and she never sent him the recordings. On Aug. 13, he submitted his report and concluded that Schin- nour swore on occasion at the woman, but that all the other al- legations were unfounded. Another grievance was filed, but it was handled by CUPE, Local 38 due to the driver's distrust of Local 37. In January 2017, all allegations were found to be true and Wright was given a letter of expectation. It was recommended Schinnour be terminated and he was no longer with the city, as of the hearing. "We acknowledge that there were violations and apologize to (the grievor)," wrote Troy Mc- Leod, director roads, in the letter announcing the results of the in- vestigation. Arbitrator James Casey (and board members William Arm- strong and Aneen Albus) award- ed the driver $75,000 in general damages and lost wages from the time she first took medical leave in 2015 until April 18, 2018 (the date of the hearing). "We find that the conduct by certain of the city's employees constituted discrimination and harassment against the griev- or. The city is legally responsible for this conduct. As a result, we declare that the city has violated paragraphs 2.10 (Discrimination) and 2.11 (Harassment) of the col- lective agreement," said Casey. Even though she is still unable to return to work, the arbitrator wished her well and thanked her for pursuing the case. "At its heart, it is also the story of the grievor's resilience, cour- age and indomitable spirit that sustained her during the long three-year battle to have her claim heard. While the grievor was es- sentially abandoned by both the city and Local 37, this is also the story about how the city and Local 37 ultimately did the right thing and supported the grievor." Reference: Calgary and Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 37. James Casey — arbitrator. Rebecca Andersen, Avril Fisher for the employer. J. Robert W. Blair for the employee. April 18, 2018. 2018 CarswellAlta 793 University not permitted to change original deal: Arbitrator < Female driver pg. 1 < Clerical support pg. 1

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