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Thursday, December 28, 2017

Craven, "Just Cause--Industrial Discipline at Arbitration in the 1940s"

Paul Craven has published "Just Cause--Industrial Discipline at Arbitration in the 1940s" in the Canadian Labour and Employment Law Journal.

The Journal does not provide an abstract, but Professor Craven has kindly provided the editor's summary:

The principal elements of just cause protection for unionized workers in
the context of industrial discipline can be summed up in what the author refers
to as the “four Rs”: reasons, reinstatement, equitable relief, and representation.
While the scope and meaning of just cause came to be fully developed in the
arbitral jurisprudence of the 1960s and 1970s, several of its core aspects are
of considerably older provenance. This paper throws light on a little-known
chapter in the development of the “common law of the shop” by reporting on the
results of primary research into mostly unreported arbitration awards in discipline cases, conducted under the auspices of the Ontario Department of Labour in the wartime and immediate post-war periods. 
Although they did not set out to create a systematic jurisprudence, the arbitrators in those early cases clearly anticipated the established model of corrective and industrial discipline: they gave effect to a requirement for reasons; reinstated employees found innocent of allegations of wrongdoing and awarded compensation; articulated a need for prior warnings and a culminating incident; “made the punishment fit the crime”by substituting lesser penalties and taking into account mitigating factors such as length of service; and afforded a measure of protection to union officials against reprisal while emphasizing their responsibility for securing compliance with grievance procedures. Ultimately, the author argues, the early arbitrators saw their role chiefly as the cultivation of workplace harmony and avoidance of work stoppages, seeking to reconcile industrial unionism with industrial peace.

Monday, December 11, 2017

Osgoode Society Books on Sale until December 14


BOOK SALE: DECEMBER 1-14




Our back catalogue is on sale for $10 per book plus shipping

Looking for a good book to give as a gift this Holiday Season? Missing something from the more than 100 books published by the Osgoode Society?

Whether you’re looking for biographies or collections of essays, we have something for every reader.

Simply fill out the form and email it to the Osgoode Society (osgoodesociety@lsuc.on.ca). As a bonus, every person who purchases a book may receive a free copy of Cornerstones of Order: Courthouses and Town Halls of Ontario, 1784-1914 by Marion MacRae and Anthony Adamson (shipping not included).

We will contact you once we process your order, and provide you with an estimate for the cost of shipping if applicable. (If you can come to Osgoode Hall in Toronto you will be able to pick up your books at the Osgoode Society's office for free).


The sale is open to non-members as well as members.