Damages for incorrect work assignment denied as the employer's decision was not unreasonable.
The applicant union filed a construction grievance seeking damages for the respondent employer's failure to assign plaster removal work to its members, following a successful jurisdictional dispute.
The employer argued that the collective agreement precluded damages and that the assignment was not unreasonable.
The Board found that while the collective agreement did not expressly preclude damages in this specific scenario, damages for an incorrect work assignment should only be awarded if the employer acted unreasonably.
Applying the Robertson Yates test, the Board concluded that the employer's assignment of the work to the painters was not unreasonable given the circumstances, including the urgency of the project and the ancillary nature of the work.
The application for damages was dismissed.
Labourers' International Union of North America - Local 247 v. Ellis-Don Limited, 1997 CanLII 15487
