Qulliq’s HR boss didn’t understand aggrieved employee’s complaints

The civil lawsuit of a former employee of Qulliq Energy Corp. in Iqaluit continues June 13 at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit. (FILE PHOTO)

The Qulliq Energy Corp.’s human resources director told court Jan. 12 that the company did not understand complaints made by former employee Sarah Kucera, who is seeking compensation and damages from QEC for breach of contract and wrongful dismissal.

Kucera alleges the human resources department drove her out of her job as executive assistant to the president and chief executive officer of Qulliq after 13 months on the job in 2009 and 2010.

Kucera was discharged from her job in August 2010.

In court June 12, Qulliq’s human resources director, Catherine Cronin, said repeated complaints about the human resources department by Kucera eventually led Cronin to submit a six-page complaint to Qulliq president Peter Mackey early in 2010.

That’s after in court, June 10, Kucera alleged the director referred to her in insulting and “threatening” ways in e-mail communications related to questions on salary.

Kucera said Cronin also told her not to share “certain information” with two co-workers at the office and avoid communicating with them.

This created an awkward situation at work, Kucera said, as she “needed to communicate with co-workers on a daily basis” as part of her job.

Kucera’s complaints about Cronin led to a mediation session on May 31, 2010, organized by Mackey, to resolve issues between them.

Cronin said in court June 12 that she did not know what issues were to be resolved at the session.

“I didn’t quite know what we were discussing,” Cronin said.

Kucera has previously recounted Cronin’s instructions on avoiding specific employees and the insulting e-mails, one dating to February 2010, in which Cronin instructed a human resources employee to correct a mistake in Kucera’s salary or “I risk being shot in the face with 50 of her earrings.”

Cronin said the comment was intended to express urgency in getting the correction done, and not directed at Kucera in any way.

Instructions on not sharing specific information with other employees are a routine part of her job, Cronin said, which she does with all employees as needed to protect confidentiality.

Kucera’s wish to gain an apology from Cronin went unanswered, and the mediator assigned for the task, labour relations lawyer Francis Léger, chose not to continue the session.

Qulliq president Peter Mackey was then called as a witness June 12 and was to answer further questions from lawyers in the fourth day of the trial, June 13.

(more to come)