Misguided Decision to Strip Seniority Costs CPC $4,100.00!
On July 22, 2013, a Kelowna temporary employee was reinstated to her employment as a result of an arbitration ruling by Arbitrator Stan Lanyon. Despite her reinstatement, the Grievor’s phone remained silent and she did not receive any offers of work until October. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the Canada Post management team had inexplicably changed the Grievor’s seniority date to reflect the date of her reinstatement. At the time of her discharge, the Grievor’s seniority date corresponded with her original hiring date of March 8, 2010. As a result of Canada Post’s actions, the Grievor was repeatedly bypassed for a series of work assignments.
The collective agreement is clear that a temporary employee’s seniority shall be determined by the length of employment since the first date of hire in the bargaining unit provided there has been no final termination of employment. Similarly, an employee’s continuous service can only be broken by a final termination of employment. As the Grievor was reinstated to her employment, there was no final termination of employment.
The Union’s attempt to resolve the matter with Kelowna Area Manager Caron Zukowsky proved fruitless; Ms. Zukowsky claimed that it was the “Company’s position” that the Grievor’s seniority date would reflect the date of her reinstatement rather than her hiring date.
In response, the Union contacted the arbitrator’s office for a hearing date.
Four weeks later, the Canada Post management team capitulated. On January 6, 2014, Canada Post agreed to restore the Grievor’s seniority and continuous service dates. But this was not the end of the matter as the Grievor had been bypassed for a series of work assignments that she would otherwise have been offered had her seniority not been stripped.
On February 5, 2014, the Union resolved the lost wages resulting from the bypasses. In the result, the Grievor will be compensated for $4,100.00 in lost earnings plus an additional 4% supplement.
In Solidarity,
Ken Mooney – Regional Grievance Officer
February 28, 2014
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