Newspaper claws back overtime pay
Unifor Local 2000 filed a grievance against British Columbia's Nanaimo Daily News, a division of Postmedia Network, after it clawed back overtime pay.
The employer, however, argued it had every right to do so because the overtime pay was incurred by employees’ refusal to follow management’s direction.
On April 29, 2014, the pressroom night shift worked two hours overtime to meet the afternoon deadline for printing an electronics retailer's monthly flyer. Employees were paid the straight time hourly rate for the two hours.
But that pay was subtracted from the employee’s subsequent paycheck after management discovered the circumstances surrounding the overtime work.
Recent cost-cutting initiatives had reduced the number of pressmen assistants working each shift from two to one. Because pressmen assistants are responsible for flying the press, this would have reduced the number of folders running on the printing press during production from two to one. Management decided pressmen would be responsible for flying the second folder.
After being informed of this change, the pressmen decided they would not fill in to take the missing pressmen assistant’s place, as flying the press was not part of a pressman’s duties.
When printing of the electronics retailer flyer was scheduled to begin on April 25 the press was run with only one folder manned by a pressman assistant. The job was not completed as a result, and additional print runs were required on April 28 and April 29.
When the employer was made aware of the overtime hours, management concluded the initial run on April 25 had not used two folders because there was only one pressmen assistant on shift and no pressman was willing to fly the press.
The employer instructed the payroll department to correct this "clerical error" by deducting the overtime premium from the employee’s subsequent pay. No discipline was awarded for the incident.
On June 16 the employer applied to the Labour Relations Board for an order, which the board issued on June 19. The board declared the pressmen’s refusal to fly the press constituted an illegal strike and ordered them to follow the employer’s direction with regards to production.
Unifor Local 2000 filed a grievance on the employees’ behalf, arguing they are entitled to be paid the overtime premium under the collective agreement.
The employer has no right under the collective agreement to pay the premium and later claw it back. The union further argued the manner in which the operational change was communicated to the pressmen contributed to the incident.
The employer, however, argued the pressmen’s refusal to fly the press is what set in motion the chain of events that led to the overtime requirement on April 29. Their refusal to follow direction was the direct cause of the overtime and employees should not profit from their collective failure to work now and grieve later.
"Regardless of the attraction of seeking to achieve fairness by denying a benefit to those whose actions create their claim to entitlement of the benefit, the facts of this situation are not comparable to a situation where there has been a concerted slowdown in production by all bargaining unit employees," said arbitrator James E. Dorsey.
"The pressmen and pressmen assistants who worked the overtime on April 29 are entitled under the collective agreement to the overtime premium for the hours they worked."
The grievance was allowed and the employer ordered to repay the overtime premium pay it deducted from the employees’ pay.
Reference: Nanaimo Daily News, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. and Unifor Local 2000. James E. Dorsey — arbitrator. Israel Chafetz or the employer, Stu Shields for the union. Aug. 19, 2014.
