University not permitted to change original deal: Arbitrator
After he was told that his administrative assistant’s contract would not be renewed, a professor at the University of Ottawa filed a grievance.
Amir Attaran began working at the school in 2004, and his original letter of appointment (LOA) promised, “You will have access to clerical support from the global health group secretariat.”
Attaran testified that when he was first approached by the university for the possiblity of becoming a professor, he said it was mandatory that his position included clerical support. He said two days per week was sufficient to meet his needs and he would not accept a job without it.
During the time he was being courted by the institution, Attaran had applied for a Canada Research Chair (CRC). He received the CRC in 2005, after he was hired.
In 2006, Belinda Smith was hired to provide two days per week of clerical support for Attaran.
But in 2010, Bruce Feldthusen, dean of law, sent a letter to Luc Gauthier, acting director of the Institute of Population Health (IPH) at the university, expressing concern about which department was responsible for paying Smith’s salary.
Eventually, the matter was partially settled and Gauthier advised Attaran via email that: “I was able to get approval to extend Belinda’s current contract until the end of January 2016.”
Due to his CRC expiring, Attaran was also asked if he would he still require clerical support and the professor said he still needed it due to his workload, which included regular work at the Ecojustice environmental law clinic.
On May 11, 2017, Smith received a final extension of employment that would expire on June 30, 2019.
Gauthier testified that in 2015, the IPH shut down and the funds for the clerical support could no longer come out of IPH’s budget. (Attaran was hired as part of the IPH).
Laroque testified that because no other professor enjoyed this type of arrangement, Attaran’s contract would be amended and he would have to use the same clerical staff employed by the other professors. Attaran would no longer be allowed to have a dedicated staff member assigned to him.
Laroque also said that Attaran’s relationship with Ecojustice provided him with the necessary administrative support.
On Nov. 2, 2016, the union, the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO), grieved the denial of clerical support for Attaran. It argued the university must honour the original agreement and it cannot unilaterally end the clerical support provision.
The university argued that Attaran’s clerical support was only tied to the CRC, which ended, and, in any case, the terms of the LOA could be terminated with notice, which it had provided.
Arbitrator Sydney Baxter disagreed and allowed the grievance. “I do not find that (Attaran’s) benefit of dedicated part-time clerical support, as contained in his LOA, is inconsistent with the terms of the collective agreement.”
“The university is not permitted to bring an end to the (Attaran’s) clerical support by way of notice,” said Baxter.
The argument that Attaran’s LOA contradicted the collective agreement, which provided for more general clerical support, was rejected by the arbitrator.
“A careful review of the LOA reveals nothing that speaks to the university’s ability to put an end to the provisions in the LOA dealing with clerical support. Unlike the terms of the collective agreement, which are for fixed periods of time before coming up for renewal, the LOA contains no such provision. (Attaran), unlike the association, lost all bargaining power once he was hired by the university,” said Baxter.
Despite what the university said, according to Baxter, Attaran’s workload has not decreased after the expiration of the CRC. “The only evidence adduced by the university in this regard consisted of Dean Laroques’ comment on the current level of (Attaran’s) research in answer to a question put to him during cross-examination, when he replied that he could not say that he had a detailed understanding of (Attaran’s) research.”
Reference: The University of Ottawa and the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa. Sydney Baxter — arbitrator. Daphne Fedoruk for the employer. Sean McGee for the employee. April 23, 2018. 2018 CarswellOnt 6766
