he Union filed grievances (CHQ-18-27 and YYZ-BG-17-54) alleging Air Canada breached the Collective Agreement and the Canada Labour Code by failing to compensate members for reading the company’s Move Me News published twice a month. The Union had argued that the company’s failure to pay wages for mandatory work was a violation of Article 5 of the Collective Agreement and that employees must be paid for their work reading Move Me News.
Arbitrator Hayes dismissed the Union’s grievances. The arbitrator found that Move Me News was intended to be an updating supplement to ePub, and therefore the required reading was deemed to fall under “certain mandatory activities [that] do no attract separate compensation, that is, additional to basic pay.” Arbitrator Hayes held that employees are not, and have not been, separately compensated for reading the company’s materials.
This is a disappointing decision, but the Union greatly appreciates and thanks its members for their dedicated support in pursuing the grievances, in particular Local 4092 Vice President Laurent Roy for his invaluable assistance as the Union’s witness.
In solidarity,
