Canadian Labour Reporter

8 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2017 October 9, 2017 ARBITRATION AWARDS Leaves issue should be 'settled at bargaining table': Arbitrator She said to Weiss, "I hope that you and your family have a horri- ble Christmas this year." The com- ment was also heard by Stacey Moorehouse, manager for acute care coverage for Edmonton. Moorehouse told Cummings that the remarks were unaccept- able and she would speak with her later about it. Cummings contin- ued to lash out to fellow employ- ees and at 11 a.m., she again spoke with Moorehouse. Cummings said that moving the decorations was very trau- matic to her and it made her upset. Cummings said Weiss was doing a poor job managing the move and she should be fired. After an investigation and another talk with Cummings, Moorehouse issued a written rep- rimand: "This disciplinary letter of warning is the result of an in- vestigation into concerns of dis- respectful and unprofessional be- haviour towards your colleagues. This behaviour is unacceptable. In future, it is expected that you communicate with your manager and work colleagues in as respect- ful and professional manner as possible." On March 7, the union, Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, filed a grievance alleging Cum- mings was a 31-year veteran with no record of previous discipline and the letter was unwarranted. It said she should have been given more counselling in order to cor- rect her behaviour. Moorehouse had previously coached Cummings about her at- titude and her practice of some- times hanging up too early on people after she spoke on the phone. As well, Cummings was ad- vised her interactions with the public were sometimes inappro- priate. In a performance review com- pleted in 2016, Moorehouse wrote that while Cummings "cares deep- ly for both patients and other team members," occasionally her per- formance would "come and go — she would improve and then she would relapse." On the day of the incident with Weiss, Cummings was not happy with the move as well as having her computer out of service. She testified that Christmas decora- tions had gone missing during a previous move, which exacerbat- ed her bad feelings. Cummings said she was "sick about the way that the move went. It was beyond frustration and sad- ness. It was not a good day. It was like being in an accident — just sickening." Arbitrator Dev Chankasingh dismissed the grievance. "I find that Cummings' com- ment to Weiss on Dec. 7 amounts to verbal abuse and gave the em- ployer just cause to discipline the grievor. The employer's issuance of the letter of warning was war- ranted in the circumstances." Despite Cumming's unblem- ished career, Chankasingh said the stressful moving day should have been better handled by the employee. "Long service can be a two- edged sword: It can be argued that, as a senior employee with 31 years of service, Cummings should have known better than to verbally abuse a co-worker; she should have conducted herself as an exemplar for junior employees. Therefore, Cummings' long ser- vice by itself cannot justify a non- disciplinary sanction." Cummings' past actions showed that it was not the first time she had issues with her de- meanour while on the job. "However, in Cummings' most recent performance appraisal completed by Moorehouse, she also commented that 'As dis- cussed, it would be beneficial for her to modify her temperament and be more approachable when working under pressure and feel- ing stressed.' "In my view, this demonstrates that while Cummings was un- doubtedly an excellent employee, she had an issue controlling her temper when working in stressful situations," said Chankasingh Reference: Alberta Health Services and Alberta Union of Provincial Employees. Dev Chankasingh — arbitrator. Kevin Werstiuk, Inderpal Virdee for the employer. William Rigutto for the employee. Sept. 21, 2017. < Christmas pg. 1 from Bethlehem Catholic High School to work in the CUPE Sas- katoon area office from March 30 to April 10, 2015." It was Stromberg's third such request in the previous six months. But Al Boutin, superintendent of human resource services, de- nied the request. "Providing leave to GSCS em- ployees to facilitate casual sup- port-staff needs of CUPE Nation- al has the potential to significantly and negatively impact day-to-day operations at the site of the absent employee and/or other sites with- in Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools," wrote Boutin in a May 4 letter to the union. "These provisions were never intended to provide a pool of CUPE casual staff for CUPE Na- tional employee short-term vaca- tion or sick-leave requirements," wrote Boutin On Aug. 11, Greg Chatlain, director of education, wrote an- other letter to the union request- ing a minimum 30-day period be instituted for any leaves for union work. The union grieved the denial on April 24 and said the employer violated the collective agreement clause about union leaves. Leave was approved previously for three different times in 2014 and 2015 for Stromberg, and two other school employees including Donna Erdman, who took time off for 11 different periods in 2013 and 2014. Arbitrator William Hood up- held the grievance. "If short-term leaves are too disruptive to the employer, then this is to be set- tled at the bargaining table. The employer shall make the grievor whole for any compensation lost when her union leave request was denied." The collective agreement in- cludes specific language which means "there is no discretion. Compare this to the professional development leave, extended leave, and lay ministry leave where there is a discretion. In these cir- cumstances the 'leave may be granted,' rather than 'shall be granted'," said Hood. "There is no ambiguity in article 30 of the col- lective agreement and, therefore, it would be inappropriate to resort to the evidence of past conduct of the employer in granting short- term union leaves." The school board's request to impose a minimum period of leave was not specified in the agreement either, so it cannot be applied after the fact, according to Hood. "There is no minimum- notice requirement. Compare this to the presidential leave where the application for leave requires notice of the leave be provided a minimum of one month in ad- vance of the school year." Despite the employer's argu- ments, the short stint Stromberg asked for cannot be considered as temporary or casual, said Hood. "Stromberg can be in a full- time position even if the position is temporary; in this case, from March 30 to April 15. The evi- dence does not specifically cover the hours of work expected of Stromberg for this position with the union. However, the evidence is that Stromberg was selected by the union to fill in for a vacation- ing union employee at the Saska- toon CUPE office. "In our view, it is reasonable to conclude that this was a full-time position with the union" said Hood. Reference: Board of Education of St. Paul's Roman Catholic Separate School Division Number 20 of Saskatchewan (Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools) and Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 2268. William Hood — arbitrator. Geraldine Knudsen for the employer. Janice Janzen for the employee. May 29, 2017. < School pg. 1

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