( from a management point view)

PRELIMINARY MATTERS

Opening Statement: This should be brief, clear, and concise. What will your case prove?

Case for Arbitration

The grievor was employed by Maple Leaf Foods as a shipper on April 20, 2015 and was dismissed on May 7, 2019. On April 1, 2019, the grievor was involved in an automobile accident and was charged under the Criminal Code for driving while his license was under suspension and with impaired driving. He was injured in the accident and was absent from work from April 1, 2019 until May 4, 2019. During that time the grievor was paid sick leave by the company.

On May 4, 2019, the grievor was convicted of the charges and he was sentenced to a jail term of 38 days. Two days later, a call was received by the supervisor at the plant from the grievor's son requesting he be given a week's vacation to which he was entitled, and a leave of absence to cover the jail term. The company considered the leave request and decided not to grant it. The grievor was informed that he did not have an acceptable reason for being absent from work, was paid his one week of vacation and discharged effective May 7, 2019.

During the grievance process, the company indicated to the union that they had considered the grievor's request for a leave of absence but decided to refuse it because it was deemed to be an inappropriate reason. Therefore, this resulted in the grievor being absent without proper leave and the company considered this as sufficient grounds for dismissal. The company had received previous requests from employees for leave to serve jail terms. One they had granted, which involved an employee with 26 years' service and another they had refused from an employee with about 11 years' service. The company considered the grievor to be below average in job performance and did not get along well with other employees. The grievor had a written reprimand on his file regarding complaints from his fellow employees about his on-the-job behaviours. This, together with his relatively short service of only about 4 years, convinced the company not to approve the leave of absence for him.

Article 4, the Management Rights clause of the Collective Agreement states: Management retains all rights not referred to in the collective agreement.

Article 22, the Leave of Absence clause of the Collective Agreement reads as follows: The Company may grant employees unpaid leaves of absence for personal reasons, provided they get the prior approval of their supervisor, and provided the reason for the leave is reasonable in the circumstances.

The grievance has proceeded to arbitration.