The complainant, a probationary employee, was discharged by his employer.
He alleged that the respondent union breached its duty of fair representation under section 68 of the Labour Relations Act by refusing to represent him or file a grievance on his behalf.
The union argued that under the collective agreement, it was not required to represent probationary employees in cases of discharge.
The Ontario Labour Relations Board found that the union acted arbitrarily by relying on a collective agreement provision to completely abdicate its duty to represent the complainant simply because he was a probationary employee.
The Board ordered the union to submit the discharge to arbitration and ordered the employer to waive any timeliness objections.
