Former Radio-Canada anchor Pascale Nadeau was not forced to retire, nor was she the victim of a “constructive dismissal” from her former employer, ruled the arbitration tribunal in a recent decision.
“The evidence does not support a continuity of management maneuvers intended to lead Ms. Nadeau to decide to leave her job. On the contrary, the evidence adduced shows that the employer wants Ms. Nadeau to continue her employment after her suspension, ”we can read in the document dated January 27, of which Le Devoir obtained a copy.
On August 5, Radio-Canada announced the departure of Ms. Nadeau, stating that she had “recently informed the news department of her intention to retire [à l’automne 2021] “. The former host of Téléjournal weekend had subsequently indicated, in an open letter published in Le Soleil, that she had been the target of a “disciplinary drift” following an “anonymous” complaint.
It turns out that Ms. Nadeau was suspended for one month without pay on February 17 following an investigation triggered by an anonymous complaint for “inappropriate behavior”. The journalist went on disability leave in the wake of this disciplinary measure and never returned to the airwaves until the announcement of her departure.
The Radio-Canada Workers’ Union filed a grievance on February 25, 2021 regarding this disciplinary suspension, described by Ms. Nadeau as a “retaliatory measure”, “abuse of rights” and an attack on her ” integrity”. Six months later, on August 25, the union filed a request to amend the grievance in order to add that Ms. Nadeau had “been the victim of a constructive dismissal” and to demand her reinstatement.
It is this request for amendment that the court rejected last week. In light of the evidence provided, the arbitrator concluded that Ms. Nadeau had decided to retire prematurely voluntarily, without being pressured to do so by her former employer. He adds that the dispute in question is different from that opened by the initial grievance and should have been the subject of a second grievance within 30 days following the allegation of “constructive dismissal”. However, this deadline was not respected and “no reasonable explanation or justification was provided to override [ce délai] provided for in the collective agreement. »
Desired retirement
According to the evidence, Ms. Nadeau announced her desire to retire from the human resources department of Radio-Canada as well as Ginette Viens, first director of the information network, on June 28, 2021. Ms. Viens offered to discuss it. , to which the ex-host replied that this decision “belongs to her”. “She adds that she did not plan to leave this year and especially not in this way after 38 years of career. She concludes that what she has been subjected to since day one of this “senseless investigation” in addition to attacking her “integrity” does not “allow her other alternatives”, “we can read.
Ms. Nadeau reiterates her decision to retire in another email sent to Ms. Viens on July 8, 2021, specifying this time to do so “against her will” and says she is the first victim of “a constructive dismissal”.
French Services Chief Information Officer Luce Julien responded on July 9. In this email, we understand that management expected Ms. Nadeau to regain her place as anchor of Téléjournal Week-end, after her suspension. She adds that it “is in no way a constructive dismissal”.
“A dismissal, even “disguised” remains the fault of the employer. It cannot arise from the voluntary actions of the employee. Nor can it be caused by the otherwise legitimate decisions of the employer, such as to carry out an investigation which is imposed on it by the Law and its internal policies”, indicates the arbitrator in his decision.
reactions
“It’s an important decision. The arbitrator confirms what Radio-Canada said last summer: Ms. Nadeau was not constructively dismissed, […] she voluntarily quit her job, ”said public broadcaster spokesperson Marc Pichette.
“This decision is limited to refusing to allow the scope of the grievance to be broadened,” reacted Pierre Tousignant, president of the Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleurs de Radio-Canada (CSN). He recalls that the case is far from over since the hearings continue on March 25th. The suspension of the ex-host will this time be at the heart of the debate before the same referee.