A 7 year battle over a day of paid personal leave has finally
reached a conclusion.
The dispute centred around the interpretation of the collective
bargaining agreement governing a unionized employee of the Canada
Revenue Agency (CRA). The employee, during the
span of one fiscal year, moved from one position within the Agency
to another. Each position was in a different bargaining unit with
its own collective agreement. Each collective agreement entitled
workers to one paid personal day per fiscal year. The employee took
a personal day under each agreement (in the same year). The Agency
refused to pay the second day.
The CRA took the position that the paid leave entitlements were
Agency-wide and not specific to each contract and each bargaining
unit. To allow an employee to take more than one paid day of leave
"leads to an unfair result and defies the values and
principles of equity, integrity and efficiency..." the CRA
contended.
