Canada Post employee walked out twice over disputes with management but said he still wanted to work for the corporation
This instalment of You Make the Call involves a dispute over whether a postal worker quit his job or not.
Ephrem Eshetu started out as a part-time rural mail carrier for Canada Post before becoming a full-time carrier in Edmonton in August 2009. It didn’t take long for performance issues to pop up and Canada Post received several customer complaints related to mail that had been sorted poorly. Eshetu was given three warning notices.
On Dec. 21, 2009, during the holiday rush, Eshetu didn’t sort all his mail. When his supervisor brought this to Eshetu’s attention, Eshetu replied that there was too much mail and not all of it could be delivered. When his supervisor told him that wasn’t his call to make, he said he would sort the mail but management could deliver it. He was told the comment wasn’t acceptable and Eshetu told the supervisor that he quit.
Eshetu handed over his keys and went home. However, two days later, Eshetu told Canada Post, through his union representative, that he wanted to come back to work and Canada Post allowed him to return to his regular job. He denied actually saying he quit.
Over the next couple of months, Eshetu received more warning notices that were frustrating him because he felt his customers were satisfied and he was doing a good job. He tried unsuccessfully to transfer to another depot. Finally, on Feb. 23, 2010, he was given another warning notice. When he met with management, he said he was quitting. They asked him to sign a paper stating that he quit, which he did. He spoke to a union advisor and handed in the note.
Management asked Eshetu if he was “100 per cent sure” and Eshetu replied in the affirmative. His identification and keys were returned and he left the depot.
When Eshetu arrived home, he had second thoughts. On his wife’s advice, Eshetu called his union representative the next day and said he wanted to go back to work. He composed a written note stating his desire to return. However, Canada Post decided not to bring Eshetu back because it was the second time he had said he quit and there were still ongoing performance issues.
You Make the Call
Should Canada Post have allowed Eshetu to rescind his resignation?
OR
Was the employer entitled to cut ties with him after two resignations?
If you said Canada Post should have allowed Eshetu back to work, you’re right. The arbitrator agreed with Canada post that Eshetu initially intended to quit due to frustration with his supervisors and he had already seemed to have quit once before. He was also given time to consult with his union representative and change his mind, which he didn’t.
However, even though Eshetu knew what he was doing and was aware of the consequences, he indicated his desire to rescind the resignation the next day. Even after Canada Post denied his request to come back, Eshetu applied for other positions with the company, showing it was his “preferred employer,” said the arbitrator. As a result, the arbitrator found Eshetu’s “post-quit conduct” demonstrated he didn’t have a “true continuing intent to resign.”
“The timeline in the present case can be characterized as short and therefore suggestive that there was not a continuing intention to resign,” said the arbitrator.
