The complainant, a probationary employee who was discharged, alleged that her union breached its duty of fair representation under section 68 of the Labour Relations Act.
She claimed the union acted arbitrarily by failing to argue at arbitration that she had a substantive right to grieve her discharge despite her probationary status.
The Ontario Labour Relations Board dismissed the complaint, finding that the union representative's lack of awareness of a specific legal argument did not amount to arbitrary conduct.
The representative had conducted a thorough investigation, put his mind to the case, and made a reasoned decision to pursue a strategy based on the invalidity of the probation extension, which did not constitute a flagrant error or reckless behavior.
