Blames incident on her denigration of him
A female worker was harassed by a colleague to such an extent that she had to push an emergency stop button on a lumber-processing machine, after fearing for her safety.
Richard McWatch had worked at the Tembec Enterprises Chapleau Sawmill in Northern Ontario for 22 months as a vacation relief/spare operator before being terminated for cause on June 27, 2016.
The firing stemmed from a June 24 incident whereby McWatch told a colleague, identified only as “SR,” that she was an “old bag”, a “useless b---h” and a “f---ing c--t.”
McWatch also manipulated a wood plank strapping machine back and forth a number of times, as SR worked on a bundle of wood.
Three times, she tried to attach a sticker with a stapler and each time it was moved by McWatch as she got closer. Eventually, she pushed the emergency stop button on the machine to end the dangerous behaviour.
After the incident, nothing further happened and they continued working together on the strapping machine for the rest of the shift.
McWatch testified he was angry at SR for taking too long to return to work after lunch and he was only trying to annoy her, not harm her. “No way I wanted to hurt this woman, she just made me mad and I wanted to frustrate her,” he said.
He also claimed he had been suffering from stress ever since discovering his grandmother was suffering from a case of terminal cancer, which claimed her life in August 2016, and this was affecting his worklife.
McWatch was a member of the local Brunswick House First Nation, and he was also going through the breakup of his mother and stepfather.
The genesis of the strapping machine incident began earlier that week on Monday, June 10, according to McWatch. He said he overheard SR in the lunchroom speaking in French (which he understood) about his status as merely that of a temporary employee who shouldn’t be allowed to vote on an issue about overtime shifts.
He said nothing to SR at the time, but the ill feelings percolated all week, culminating with the Friday happening.
The termination was made official Monday, after a meeting with management.
It was grieved by the United Steelworkers, on the grounds of it being overly harsh, considering the mitigating circumstances. As well, McWatch was remorseful and apologetic after being confronted about his behaviour, offering to personally apologize to SR.
Arbitrator Kim Bernhardt ruled in favour of reinstating McWatch, with time off without pay acting as a reasonable punishment. “These remarks are totally unacceptable, breach workplace and legislative requirements, and warrant censure and corrective measures.”
The worker was also having trouble to adjusting after losing his first “real job,” according to Bernhardt.
“The grievor has not found other employment since being terminated and might have to leave his family (whom he is close to) and community to find comparable employment. Although the impact of the incident on those involved might be relevant in assessing the magnitude of the offence, in this case, it is not the most critical of the considerations as there are ways for the employer to re-establish a healthy working environment.”
McWatch’s quick acceptance of the wrongdoing and his insistence that his actions were “out of character” also mitigated the damage, according to Bernhardt.
“If it were not for the grievor’s truthfulness and acceptance of the responsibility for his behaviour, I would have upheld the termination," said Bernhardt.
"However, as I have found that it is unlikely that the grievor would engage in such misbehaviour in the future, he is to be given another chance at resuming his career with Tembec,” said Bernhardt.
Reference: Tembec Enterprises and United Steelworkers, Local 1-2010. Kim Bernhardt — arbitrator. Michelle Henry for the employer. James Fyshe for the employee. Nov. 9, 2016.
