Non-conforming
Rest Days
June 17th, 2006
Brothers and Sisters,
In December 2005, the CPRail bulletined the Pacific Region TP&E
crews with non-conforming rest days (rest days other than Friday.
Saturday, Sunday or Saturday, Sunday, Monday) from April 2 to the
end of the work season. We grieved the issue immediately and began
deliberations and arguments with the company to get them to change
their mind and repeal their decision. We were unsuccessful at getting
them to abolish the non-conforming rest days entirely, but did
manage to lessen the time down to August 28 to November 15 and
only on three subdivisions.
I must tell you though, at one point they made an offer that I
accepted. I though we could resolve this without CROA. But once
I accepted, they withdrew it prior to sign off. Though this kind
of game playing with your lives is intolerable, it was a good shoe
of "company values".
Ten weeks is still too great an impact on members and their families
and is unacceptable, so we escalated the matter to CROA. The arbitrator
heard the case in May and he accepted the company's position that
it was an operational requirement and would be allowed under article
8.17 of the collective agreement. Article 8.17 reads,
"Assignment
of Rest Days
8.17
The rest days shall be consecutive as far as is possible consistent
with the establishment of regular relief assignments and the
avoidance of working an employee on an assigned rest day. Preference
shall be given to Saturday and Sunday and then to Sunday and
Monday. In any dispute as to the necessity of departing from
the pattern of two consecutive rest days or for granting rest
days other than Saturday and Sunday or Sunday and Monday, it
shall be incumbent In the Railway to show that such departure
is necessary to meet operational requirements and that otherwise
additional relief service or working an employee on an assigned
rest day would be involved."
This is coupled with 8.1(a) which reads,
"(a)
Notwithstanding the above, a four day, 10 regular hour per day
schedule may be established on seasonal work crews. In the application
of Section 8.17 the preferred rest days will be Friday, Saturday
and Sunday or Saturday, Sunday and Monday."
Arbitrator
Picher's decision on CROA case 3559, in part, read;
"....Is
urgency demonstrated in the case at hand? In approaching that
question the Arbitrator is impressed with the fact that the Company
does not seek a general change in scheduled rest days. Rather,
its proposal is to limit the changes to a relatively short period
of time, some ten weeks, during the late season high traffic
period where volumes of grain and potash shipments do create
a particular level of congestion which adversely affects normal
operational requirements. In the Arbitrator's view the ability
to schedule work blocks in such a way as to minimize the clearly
unacceptable rates of delay registered on the territories in
question can fairly be characterized as a response to a clearly
identified situation of urgency, for a defined and limited period
of time. In my view the adjustment in question does fall within
the exception contemplated within clause 8.17 of the collective
agreement. The Company has, in the circumstances of the case
at hand, satisfied the onus of demonstrating that the temporary
adjustment in rest days which it seeks to implement is justified
as necessary to meet operational requirements, failing which
having resort to additional relief service or working employees
on their assigned rest days might otherwise be necessary.
For
these reasons the grievance must be dismissed."
(entire award is published on the CROA website. A link is available
on our website: www.tcrcmwed.ca)
Though we disagree with Mr. Picher's decision, we have to accept
it and move on to other avenues.
This month I have met with a number of TP&E crews in the
Pacific Region and talked individually with their dozens of members.
The consensus is the same. They are extremely upset with the
company's actions in this matter and want to be heard.
The issue of non-conforming rest days has been a problem for
years. The language in the Collective Agreement is weak, in my
opinion, and does not quite capture the gravity of this issue.
The TP&E
crews in SOSA have suffered with having to work their weekends
(as regular days) for three years, because of an ad hoc CROA case
in 2003. This award allowed the company 3 years of non-conforming
rest days, and as you can imagine, we will be fighting them there
next year if the company tries to take a 4th.
Many of our service area winter snow crews were pushed into working
'regular day' weekends, and we grieved these and won at CROA earlier
in the year. The cases
see-saw back and forth, depending on the evidence and particulars,
and its time that we put an end to it. Its a bargaining year and
it will be a contentious and hard fought issue. This issue has
now been forced to the forefront and must be settled.
I do not believe that the company quite understands how important
this matter is to us. They tell us that the railway is "a
24/7 operation" and they tell us that other bargaining units
have weekend shifts. They should not question our loyalty to this
company, we were extremely loyal and dedicated. It is their callous
actions, their re-organisations and their disrespect that have
destroyed our morale. They are correct that other bargaining units
have weekend shifts, but all the other bargaining units that do
are paid far better than we are.
The company has at least done one thing right with their "my
way or the highway" attitude. They have galvanized us as a
workforce and as a Union. We will draw the line in the sand and
we will not be pushed beyond it. Our safety, our well being, our
families, our lives and our dignity demand no less.
We are putting together a means to allow our voices to be heard
on this and other issues and I will send out more information as
the time gets closer. Suffice it to say that August is shaping
up to be an exciting month.
Fraternally,
Bill Brehl
President
TCRC MWED
