The dismissal of a worker shortly after he raised two health and safety concerns wasn’t a reprisal, the Ontario Labour Relations Board has ruled.
Voestalpine Rotec North America (VRNA) is an automotive parts manufacturer in Burlington, Ont., that supplies tubular components and assemblies for passenger airbags. The company’s manufacturing facility was highly automated with robots performing tasks such as welding and laser cutting.
Given the nature of the operations, VRNA held monthly town hall meetings with employees for open discussions on safety and key metrics. Employees could raise health and safety issues to be addressed in the meetings either anonymously in advance or in person at the meetings.
