New plan required employees to commit to regular position
A temporary firefighter at a Quebec airport was dismissed for not committing to becoming a permanent firefighter if needed, but that wasn’t a condition of his employment when offered the job, according to an arbitrator.
Eric Paquet was hired as a regular firefighter for the Quebec City airport in 2009. In 2014, he resigned his position and accepted an offer from the airport to work as a temporary firefighter — which involved four-week contracts to replace regular firefighters when needed. The job offer stated that Paquet would be subject to “the working conditions of the temporary firefighter” outlined in the collective agreement.
Paquet also informed the airport that he would be working as a permanent firefighter for the City of Lévis, Que.
In October 2016, a new fire chief started at the airport with instructions to evaluate the effectiveness of its fire department. The department wanted to establish a succession plan that involved promoting some firefighters and adding permanent ones.
During this time, Paquet was on leave while he travelled outside the country but agreed to come home early for mandatory training in September. He was on a list for training, but it was later cancelled
On Nov. 17, the fire chief met with Paquet to ask him to commit to becoming a permanent firefighter for the airport. However, Paquet refused because of his other job. The fire chief was concerned that Paquet’s training wasn’t up to date — airport standards required specific airport training every three years and the airport had new vehicles requiring specific skills to operate. Because Paquet had left his position as a regular firefighter at the airport, he was behind schedule in his mandatory training.
For the fire chief, a temporary firefighter needed to accept a regular firefighting position to receive all the required training. Since Paquet refused to make such a commitment, his employment with the airport was terminated effective Nov. 18. The termination letter stated that the temporary fire station was part of the succession plan for the firefighting team and was a gateway for regular firefighters.
In April 2017, the airport posted for the position of temporary firefighter with a succession planning provision that the candidate should have a “desire to continue his career in the airport environment.” Paquet applied for the position but refused to sign the pledge to accept a regular position if offered. As a result, he lost the position to another candidate.
The arbitrator noted that the airport’s succession plan had an objective to meet its interests, but it wasn’t created through consulting with the union and wasn’t a result of co-operation between the airport and the union. In addition, the job posting’s requirement of a “desire to continue his career in the airport environment” was vague in that it didn’t specify whether the candidate should want to pursue regular or temporary employment, said the arbitrator.
The arbitrator found that the airport knew Paquet was going to work as a regular firefighter elsewhere when it hired him as a temporary firefighter in June 2014, so it knew he didn’t want to be a regular firefighter for the airport. The commitment to become a permanent firefighter was never part of Paquet’s hiring conditions or the collective agreement section on temporary firefighters, said the arbitrator.
The arbitrator also found that when the airport cancelled his training in September 2016, it ensured he wouldn’t have the skills required to work as a firefighter at an airport. It was likely the decision to terminate him was made well before his actual termination date, said the arbitrator.
The airport was ordered to reinstate Paquet as a temporary firefighter, compensate him for any lost pay, and ensure Paquet received the necessary training for firefighting at an airport.
Reference: Alliance of the Public Service of Canada v. Quebec Airport Inc. Denis Provençal — arbitrator. Sophie Lefrançois for the employer. Goretti Fukamusenge for the employee. July 31, 2019. 2019 CanLII 70492
