Forestry worker didn’t follow exact safety procedure but did care about safety: Arbitrator
A lengthy suspension was more appropriate discipline rather than termination for a British Columbia forestry worker who didn’t properly check to see if his partner was clear of a tree he felled, an arbitrator has ruled.
Cliff Cyr, 49, was a certified tree faller for Western Forest Products, a lumber and forest management company based in Vancouver. Cyr started working for Western in 1982, becoming a faller in 1997. Between 1992 and 2002 — a period during which Cyr had problems with drugs and alcohol — Cyr received several warnings and a three-day suspension for unsafe work practices and unauthorized absences. Cyr overcame his problems, though he had a relapse in 2010 when he received another three-day suspension for harassing other employees and damaging equipment. He attended counselling following that incident.
On March 29, 2012, Cyr and two other Western employees were assigned to an area to fall a tree that had been reported as dangerous to operations. When they arrived at the site, Cyr and one of the others walked up to the tree and worked out the best way to cut it down. Cyr began cutting with a chainsaw and the co-worker helped by tapping in wedges, then moved into a precut getaway trail..
Tree fell on worker
The two workers stepped away and the tree fell into two other leaning trees, so Cyr cut those as well. The co-worker thought they were done as he didn’t see any other damage caused by the original tree. Cyr, however, noticed another tree that leaned over an area where there could be workers, so he told the co-worker he was going to fell that tree as well. Cyr thought the co-worker said “OK” and watched him walk away along the getaway trail for several seconds.
However, the co-worker hadn’t heard Cyr and he only walked partway up the trail around some debris and then headed back towards Cyr, when he heard Cyr yelling. Cyr had cut the tree and noticed the co-worker was walking back, so he yelled at him to get out of the way. The tree fell and knocked the co-worker down, injuring his ankle. Fortunately for the co-worker, the tree didn’t fall all the way and he survived.
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Following the incident, WorkSafeBC issued orders against Western, Cyr and the co-worker for not following proper falling procedures. Cyr acknowledged that he should have cut a second getaway trail and should have made sure the co-worker understood what Cyr was doing and had moved to a safe area before starting to cut. He accepted responsibility and admitted the accident was preventable.
Cyr was suspended indefinitely pending an investigation. Since Cyr had not properly set up escape trails, created two leaning tress with his initial felled tree, and hit his co-worker with a tree, Western decided to terminate Cyr’s employment for acting in a “reckless manner” and violating company rules and WorkSafeBC regulations. Western claimed it had lost faith in his ability to do the job safely, particularly since he had undergone progressive discipline with previous warnings and suspensions.
Conduct was careless but not reckless: Arbitrator
The arbitrator acknowledged that there was sometimes a culture in Western’s workplace where procedures were not always followed to the letter, which seemed to be the case when Cyr thought his co-worker was aware of his decision to cut down the last tree. However, the arbitrator also noted that “when two fallers are in the same area, the faller with the saw is responsible for the situation.” Since Cyr made the decision to cut down the last tree because it may have been dangerous, it was his responsibility to ensure the proper safety procedures were followed and his co-worker understood what was happening, said the arbitrator.
Even though Cyr thought his co-worker heard him and understood Cyr was going to cut down the tree, they should have agreed upon a safe zone and Cyr should have waited until he knew for sure the co-worker had reached the safe zone. However, he assumed the co-worker would continue walking and began cutting before he saw the co-worker was safe.
The arbitrator disagreed with the company’s assertion that Cyr was reckless, as Cyr was concerned with safety and didn’t “deliberately disregard” where his co-worker was. However, the arbitrator found Cyr made several serious errors that didn’t follow safety procedures. This was particularly concerning because Cyr had been disciplined several times in the past for unsafe practices. The arbitrator also noted that Cyr owned up to his mistakes and was remorseful for his conduct.
The arbitrator found it was possible for Cyr to return as a productive and safe employee and, given his 30 years of service, termination was too harsh. Western was ordered to reinstate Cyr to his position with four-month suspension. See Western Forest Products Ltd. v. U.S.W., Local I-1937, 2012 CarswellBC 2085 (B.C. Arb. Bd.).
