An employee’s lack of knowledge of safety laws was a proper consideration in his employer’s decision to deny him a promotion, a labour arbitration board has decided.
The employee, a unionized mechanic with the City of Moncton, applied for the position of Service Foreman-Mechanical. His application was unsuccessful. A coworker with less seniority won the position. The employee filed a grievance under the collective agreement.
The issue was whether the employee had the qualifications to do the job. One of the listed qualifications was “Knowledgeable in the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations”. The interview committee determined that he did not possess adequate knowledge of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations and that this was a requirement. The arbitration board noted that the employee did not even testify, at the arbitration hearing, as to his level of knowledge of that Act and the Regulations; as such, the arbitration board was unable to conclude whether he had the necessary knowledge.
The arbitration board noted that the union had vetted and approved the list of job qualifications prior to the job having been posted. The arbitration board decided that the employee had also failed to prove that he had some of the other listed qualifications including supervisor experience and knowledge of certain computer applications.
The arbitration board closed by stating:
“There is no question in the mind of the Board the grievor was and is an extremely competent mechanic who may very well have been a competent foreman. However, he did not provide adequate evidence, to support his contention of his capability to perform the job at the time of bulletining. This is indeed unfortunate.”
Ryan v Moncton (City), 2014 CanLII 51635 (NB LA)
