Unifor awarded dues for non-bargaining unit work

An employee at Toronto-based vaccination supplier Sanofi Pasteur was promoted to a non-bargaining unit position, but was required to perform the duties of his previous job, for which an arbitrator ruled he be paid.

The employee, who was unnamed at the hearing, was promoted from within the bargaining unit to a non-bargaining unit position. However, immediately following the promotion, he was required to perform the duties of his former job for three or four days a week for a period of five weeks — without being under the jurisdiction of the collective agreement.

The local Unifor chapter filed a grievance, arguing that legally an employer is not permitted to have a non-bargaining unit employee perform bargaining unit work to such an extent. As a result, Sanofi’s actions triggered "implied prohibition" on an employer’s ability to have bargaining unit work performed by those outside of the membership.