Question

Goodtime Food Products Ltd. produces processed foods, including pickles, relish, and canned vegetables. The production workers of Goodtime Food Products Ltd. are covered by a collective agreement. In September of this year, the Company terminated Rano, one of the employees in the bargaining unit after an incident in the plant. She had worked for the company for 7 years without incident prior to the day of her dismissal. Rano worked at a packing station monitoring a machine that filled pickle bottles with small cucumbers before they moved to additional processing. Occasionally when there was not enough work, Rano had been moved to another job in the plant inspecting bottles. On the day of the incident, Ed Thomas, her supervisor, decided that another employee should be trained on Reno’s regular job so there would be a replacement available if Rano were absent. Because Rano spoke very little English, Thomas instructed another employee who spoke the same language as Rano, Lucy Battaglia, to tell her to report to the inspection area when she arrived at work. Battaglia was not told the reason for the transfer, just to tell Rano to move. When Rano arrived for work and Battaglia told her she was been taken off of her regular job, she became enraged and swore about Thomas. She then walked a short distance to another workstation where Thomas was speaking to another employee. When Thomas refused to speak with her, Rano pointed at his ears and gestured at Thomas with a pair of scissors suggesting that he didn’t need them as he refused to listen. A few minutes later, Rano spoke to the shop steward. The steward immediately prepared a grievance for her rate of pay as the inspection job paid less than the filling job. When Rano and the shop steward presented the grievance to Thomas in his office, he crumpled it up in front of them and threw it in a garbage can. Thomas then told Rano to get back to work. Fifteen minutes later, Thomas went to the inspection area where Rano was working. Rano became enraged, when Thomas suggested that she make use of the local foodbank to offset her pay cut. She swore at Thomas, picked up a knife that was on a workbench, shouted obscenities and made slashing gestures about three feet from Thomas’ lower body. Thomas left the area. The company discharged Reno later the same day. The union filed a grievance challenging the dismissal. The grievance states that Reno has been “disciplined without just cause” contrary to the provisions of the collective agreement and requests she be “made whole” (reinstated to her job with no loss of compensation or seniority). The dispute has gone through the grievance process, and will now go to arbitration.

Answer the question: 1), At the arbitration hearing, what arguments will be presented by the employer.

Answer 1

As an employer the following arguments can be presented:

• They must give the valid reason as to why they hired Lucy I.e. only as a replacement
• Rano directly started using bad words without discussing the issue with Thomas
• Initially when Rano went to speak to Thomas, he was already in conversation with other staff and he wanted Rano to wait , but she started behaving aggressively by pointing scissors towards him
• She gestured to cut his ears which is a criminal threat
• It directly seemed that she wasn't interested to have a peaceful conversation from initial situations only as she was too enraged without knowing the reason
• She wasn't willing to solve the matter peacefully.
• During the second encounter Roma picked up a knife that was on a workbench, shouted obscenities and made slashing gestures about three feet from Thomas’ lower body.
• Such comments and gestures are very inappropriate and must be avoided by both parties
• Rano is a very old employee and the company has always been good to her , now if they are transferring her she must behave logically and atleast listen to their side before behaving in a aggressive manner.
• She wasn't removed, hiring Lucy was just a precautionary step for unforseen circumstances.
• Dismissal of her services was necessary as such behaviour at workplace is toxic for the organisation's culture