Laval, Thursday, January 25, 2007 – Christian charity is not what it used to be. Apparently irritated by the fighting spirit and gumption of the new union president, the manager of the Residence of the Frères des écoles chrétiennes (Brothers of the Christian Schools), Robert Taillon, has dismissed her outright. Taillon handed her a letter of discharge last Friday. CUPE representative and the interim president were present.
Line Tremblay, an employee at this private residence for nearly seven years, now finds herself unemployed. Naturally, she will dispute her employer’s decision. A grievance will be filed shortly, as well as a complaint to the Labour Relations Board for dismissal for union activity.
Elected last June, Line Tremblay immediately tried to breathe new life into her union, which displeased the manager who was accustomed to a different approach. Since last fall, he had imposed several penalties on her, all disputed by the union. She was dismissed today on the pretext that she has not followed her work plan and that colleagues have complained about her performance and inefficiency.
Strangely, although the manager set her departure for Tuesday, he kept her on the schedule an additional three days, even asking her to work overtime, despite her supposed incompetence. Even more surprisingly, when he informed the union members of the dismissal, Robert Taillon advised them to be more prudent when choosing their union reps in future.
CUPE represents some 20,000 members in health and social services in Quebec. CUPE is also present in 10 other sectors, including education, municipalities, urban transport, air transport, Quebec government corporations and public agencies, hydroelectric power and communications. With a total of 100,000 members in Quebec, it is the largest union affiliated with the FTQ.
This press release and additional information can be found at www.scfp.qc.ca
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SOURCE: CANADIAN UNION OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES (FTQ)