The recent arbitration decision in Sasktel v Unifor, Local
2S, 2019 CanLII 57057 (SK LA) arose after a long-time employee
was dismissed from her position with SaskTel. While her competence
and technical know-how were undoubted, her interpersonal skills
left much to be desired. The main question in the grievance boiled
down to whether the faults with her interpersonal relationships
justified her termination.
The dismissed Employee worked in SaskTel's Assignment
Centre. Her job involved answering calls from residential and
commercial installers in order to provide them with technical and
administrative support. The Employee had been hired by Sasktel in
1997, and for the first 20 years of employment she received no
discipline. There was no sign of any problem at all. The Employee
excelled in her work, and demonstrated that she was able to handle
the more challenging and technical problems that other workers
could not. In 2013 she received congratulations for 20 years
of
