White v. Treasury Board (Solicitor General Canada - Correctional Service)

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166-2-31221 (2003 PSSRB 40)
White v. Treasury Board (Solicitor General Canada – Correctional Service)

Before: I. Mackenzie

Appearances: J. Mancini, for the Grievor; R. Fader, for the Employer
Decision rendered: June 5, 2003

Designated paid holiday – Variable hours of work schedule (12-hour shift) – Whether grievor should be entitled to the entire shift off or whether he should have to work the four-hour difference between regular scheduled hours and normal daily hours – the grievor is a Correctional Officer at the Atlantic Institution in Renous, N.B. – the variable hours of work schedule at the institution provided for 12-hour and 8-hour shifts on a two-week rotation basis – the week of April 16, 2001, the grievor was scheduled to work a 12-hour shift on Easter Monday – however, given the statutory holiday, the grievor was scheduled to work from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (four hours), was "statted off" from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (for a total of eight hours) – the grievor contested that he was scheduled to work four hours on a designated paid holiday and claimed entitlement to the entire 12-hour shift – the grievor argued that the variable hours of work scheme was not meant to affect substantive rights and was not intended to result in the splitting of a designated holiday – the grievor also argued that granting him the entire 12-hour shift off would result in no additional cost to the employer, as provided for in Article 34 (Variable Hours of Work) – the employer argued that the variable hours of work provision did not create a special class of employee and that those working such a schedule were entitled to the same benefit as non-shift workers, i.e. 7.5 hours credit for a designated paid holiday – the employer argued that "normal daily hours" differed from "regular scheduled hours worked" – the adjudicator held that the collective agreement made a distinction between "normal daily hours" and "regular scheduled hours" – he held that "regular scheduled hours worked" is a reference to the hours for each shift that the employee is scheduled to work – he found that "normal daily hours" meant eight hours – he further held that the decisions inKing and Holzer and Canada (Attorney General) v. King were not relevant as the interpretation of the work "day" was not at issue in this case and since the collective agreement language in that case differed from the language in question in this case.

Grievance denied.

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