Green and Treasury Board (Transport Canada)

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166-2-26720
Green and Treasury Board (Transport Canada)

Before: R. Simpson
Appearances: S. McGee, for the Grievor; H. MacLean, for the Employer
Decision rendered: June 14, 1996

Termination - Negligence - Air traffic controller left tower unattended - the grievor, an air traffic controller, found himself alone in the control tower when he reported for work as a coworker failed to report for the same shift - later during his shift, the grievor left the tower unattended for a period of 35 minutes to attend to personal needs and to have lunch - the grievor's absence resulted in, among other irregularities, two aircraft taking off and another landing without authorization from the tower - for this act of misconduct the employer terminated the grievor's employment - the grievor maintained that he had been led to believe that he could absent himself in this fashion, despite workplace policies and practices to the effect that only very brief periods, generally of 2 to 5 minutes, were allowed for necessary "relief" breaks - the grievor also maintained that he was suffering from a back ache and stress on the day in question - the adjudicator found that the employer's policies and practices were of long standing and had to have been known by the grievor - the adjudicator found that the grievor's actions merited termination - she did not find the grievor's evidence regarding his back ache and stress persuasive, nor did she find sufficient evidence of remorse or other mitigating factors.

Grievance denied.