Arbitration Assignment Introduction to Labour Relations 4330 Due March 21, 2022, This assignment requires each group to assess a situation of Ms. Robyn Andrews being terminated for cause from her employment. For this assignment we will be using Appendix C, Version 1, found on page 418 of the textbook. Each group will be assigned the role of either employer or union and required to submit a brief which advocates the respective roles. For example, if you are assigned the role of employer you will be advocating to the arbitrator that there was just cause to terminate Ms.Andrews. Likewise, the union will advocate that the employer violated the collective agreement terminating Ms.Andrews. This assignment will require the application of the arbitral concept of just cause along with a review of relevant arbitration decisions which can be found at Brown & Beatty, Canadian Labour Arbitration, 4th Edition, 2006, Canada Law Book (MUN Library internet access). As well, the NL Labour Relation Agency website (Labour Relations (gov.nl.ca) contains an arbitration database. The completed assignment shall be a maximum of 7 double-spaced typewritten pages, excluding appendices and references. The submission will be graded based on the following: 1. Sound knowledge of elements of just cause; 2. Clear articulation of the key arguments supporting your role as employer or union; 3. Citing relevance jurisprudence (LACs) to support your arguments; 4. Ideas are presented in a clear manner, correct grammar, punctuation, style, etc.; and 5. Concise and logically consistent reasoning. The facts of the case are not in dispute. Robyn Andrews was a registered nurse employed in the oncology (cancer) unit of university Hospital. Andrews is now 35 years old and was hired by University General on June 1, 2009. The hospital has a three-point performance rating system: (1) does not meet expectations; (2) meets expectations; and (3) exceeds expectations. Over the years Andrews's performance ratings were "meets expectations" for most years and "exceeds expectations" for 2016 and 2017. NEL Copyright 2021 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third-party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Nelson Education reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. In her role as a cancer nurse, Andrews was responsible for monitoring patient care, administering cancer drugs (e.g., chemotherapy, opioids), monitoring patient regimes, and counseling patients and their families concerning care options. Accordingly, nurses on this unit were required to maintain certification as "cancer specialists." Andrews received this certification in 2002 and had maintained it ever since. Andrews was verbally counseled and received two written warnings for absenteeism on February 14, 2018, July 25, 2018, and October 4, 2018, respectively. A union representative was present for all warnings. She was terminated on November 7, 2018, following a three-day leave of absence without permission. The letter of discharge states that she was terminated for failing to call in sick as well as for excessive absenteeism (19 percent as against a hospital average of 7 percent). A union representative was present during each of the meetings where warnings were presented to Andrews. Also, on October 4, 2018, Ms. Gomez (her manager) reminded Andrews about the hospital's confidential Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Gomez advised Andrews that she could call the EAP about anything, including drug and alcohol addiction or the recent death of her daughter, that might be affecting her attendance. Before her discharge, Andrews sought treatment for a drug (a painkiller known as oxycodone) and alcohol addiction. She has been in and out of counseling since October 15, 2018. Between the initial treatment in October 2018 and the time of the arbitration hearing (July 15, 2019), she had three major relapses in which she stopped attending her counseling sessions (dates January 3, 2019, February 14, 2019, and March 17, 2019). She has been drug- and alcohol-free since April 11, 2019. At the time of dismissal, management was unaware that she was being treated for her addiction. Andrews's addiction counselor, Dr. Asan, believes that she has an 80 percent chance of remaining chemical-free over the next few years. In Dr. Asan's opinion, it was the unexpected death of Andrews's eight-year-old daughter, who in March 2017 died in the ER of the hospital where she worked, that caused the subsequent addiction. Specifically, Andrews lost control of her car when it hit black ice. An accident followed where she was injured and her daughter subsequently died. Andrews was prescribed oxycodone as a painkiller for her accident-related injuries. There is no evidence that Andrews ever stole oxycodone from the hospital; however, that medication is readily available on the cancer unit where she works. Now that her patient has recovered from this tragic event shock, Dr. Asan believes that Andrews can maintain an acceptable attendance and performance record as a cancer nurse in the future. Regarding other employees, Ms. Gomez states that only one other cancer nurse, out of staffof25, had an absenteeism rate greater than 10 percent (15 percent). That nurse was never given a warning of any kind. (My group has been assigned the role of Employer and I need to defend this case).