Canada Post Corp v Canadian Union of Postal Workers
Document Type
Arbitration Decision
Publication Date
12-2-1982
Keywords
Part-Time Employees, Sick Leave, Vacation Leave, Collective Agreement, Ambiguous, Extrinsic Evidence, Negotiating History, Past Practice
Abstract
The question is whether part-time employees accumulate sick leave credits while on vacation leave. The Union interprets the Collective Agreement as allowing this and the Employer takes the opposite view. The Arbitrator is first asked to rule on whether the clause in question is ambiguous so as to permit admittance of extrinsic evidence, and then to decide on the intent of the article. The clause was found to be ambiguous and evidence with respect to the negotiating history of this clause and the past practice of its administration was accepted. Prior to Feb. 1977, the Collective Agreement clearly stated that part-time employees accumulated sick leave benefits while on vacation, but this clause was eliminated from subsequent Agreements. Since that time the Employer had not included vacation when calculating sick leave credits. The Union argues it was not their intent during negotiations to take away that benefit, nor did they think the new clause (since Feb. 1977) implied that.
Recommended Citation
Canada Post Corp v Canadian Union of Postal Workers (1982), 1982 CanLII 4398 (NSLA) (Arbitrator: Innis Christie).
Comments
Summary available only on CanLii.