Insisting on the lock-down procedure is important

Release date: January 8, 2018

An employee challenged his dismissal for various serious violations to the working procedure. The employer charged that he had used his hand several times to unblock a machine, despite a warning from his supervisor, thus failing to follow procedure, i.e. using a tool or stopping and locking down the machine. According to the union, the procedure did not prohibit the use of one’s hands and the recommended method was even more dangerous. The arbitrator began by noting that the procedure had not been posted close to the workstation, and that no follow-up had been conducted by the employer. Furthermore, it turned out that the procedure had been amended to prohibit the use of one’s hands a year and a half after the employee’s dismissal. According to the arbitrator, the employee had been at fault, but the employer was also partially responsible for the violation in question. Consequently, a four-month suspension was substituted instead of dismissal.

Unifor, Local 1496, St-Thomas sector v. Resolute Forest Products Canada Inc., sawmill division, St-Thomas sector, 2017EXPT-699, 2016 QCTA 1007, Jean Barrette Esq.


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