Duties of Grievance Committee
The following principles have
been set by the Supreme Court of Canada in Canadian Merchant Service Guild vs. Gagnon (1984) 1 S.C.R.509 and should be adhered to in decision-making by
members of the Grievance Committee.
The
exclusive power conferred on a union to act as spokesperson for the
employees in a bargaining unit entails corresponding obligation on the
union to fairly represent all employees comprised in the unit.
When,
as is true here and is generally the case, the right to take a
grievance to arbitration is reserved to the union, the employee does not
have an absolute right to arbitration and the union enjoys considerable
discretion.
The
discretion must be exercised in good faith, objectively and honestly,
after a thorough study of the grievance and the case taking into account
the significance of the grievance and its consequences for the employee
on the one hand and the legitimate interest of the union on the other.
The union's decision must not be arbitrary, capricious, discriminatory or wrongful.
The
representation by the union must be fair, genuine and not merely
apparent, undertaken with integrity and competence, without serious or
major negligence, and without hostility towards the employee.