ARBITRATION CASE ASSIGNMENT

Arbitration Case Assignment Student’s Name Institution Course Code: Course Name Professor’s Name Submission Date Introduction Alice’s dismissal from her job was unfair and undermined her freedom of speech, as enshrined in the Constitution of Canada. The hashtag “#JuniorSoftwareDesignersLivesMatter,” which Alice used in her tweet, was captivating because it went viral, attracting over 2,000 retweets. Several WBC junior designers interacted with the tweet. Alice also discussed compensation with other junior designers within and from different companies to gather information concerning their remuneration packages. However, WBC’s policies and rules protect the company’s employees against discrimination for discussing discrepancies in compensation in the industry and dissatisfaction concerning the levels of remuneration. As the arbitrator, I will argue that the Chief Administrative Officer’s action to terminate Alice’s employment violated her freedom of expression and was retaliatory, and thus, such dismissal should be deemed unfair. Alice’s Freedom of Speech Not Respected As a member of the United Nations, Canada subscribes to and upholds the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 19 of the UDHR holds that everyone has the right to freedom of expression and opinion (United Nations, n.d.). Under this article, all Canadians, including Alice, have the right to hold a different opinion without interference as well as to seek, receive, and share ideas and information via any media tool, regardless of geographical confines (United Nations, n.d.). Alice tweeted to share her thoughts on the issue of remuneration, an issue she deemed relevant to her workplace. In this way, the Chief Administrative Officer’s action to terminate Alice’s work contract was reactionary and did not consider her freedom of expression as enshrined under the UDHR. It is clear that Alice's termination came after she sought help from her team supervisor and later tweeted about compensation for junior software designers. Alice wanted a salary increment in order to be able to take care of her children following her husband’s demise. She had consulted her team supervisor, Mr. Rick Thomas, who responded dismissively: “Do your homework and see what others are paid.” It was after the interaction that Alice decided to discuss with other junior designers within the firm and from different companies to gather information concerning their remuneration packages. She later made a tweet about the same workplace issue. WBC management retaliated after Alice exercised her freedom of expression. Specifically, Alice’s performance review was terminated by WBC’s Director of Human Resources, Mr. Gary Bill, who noted that she was disrespectful and confrontational and had refused to engage in a discussion about her tweet. Alice also...