CITY AWAITS LABOUR RELATIONS BOARD RULING

 

For Release: October 14, 2014

The City is confident the Labour Relations Board (LRB) heard and understood its main arguments that the current lockout of Transit Workers is legal.

“I think we got a fair hearing and so now we just wait to see what the board has to say,” City Solicitor Patricia Warwick says.

The Transit union wants the LRB to find that the City was not in a legal position to lockout transit workers on September 20.  The Union argues a workplace complaint was “pending before the board” which bars any job action such as a strike or a lockout.  The City disagrees.  Warwick’s case outlines two main points:

First, the workplace complaint was not pending because the complaint had not yet been heard at a formally constituted meeting of the LRB and therefore, not “pending before the board.”

“That concept is settled law,” Warwick says.  “That’s been decided in Saskatchewan and that’s pretty clear.

There is no matter pending, there was no matter pending…and therefore the lifting of the lockout now would be a moot action because the very thing they are complaining about is now cured and is complete and over,” Warwick says.

Second, Warwick says the LRB should consider that the purpose of the law in question is to ensure the LRB only hears workplace complaints relevant to contract negotiations and the lockout.  She says the union’s complaint was related to a workplace discipline matter and not applicable.

Warwick says the City is still pursuing a collective agreement with the Amalgamated Transit Union, 615 (ATU).

“That is our goal; that is what the City wants.” she says.  “We want the ATU to have an agreement, we want the members to be operating under that agreement and we want to get transit service back on the road.”

Warwick expects a quick decision due to the lockout of transit workers.

Eight of the nine unions/associations in the General Pension Plan have accepted a 10% deal over four years as well as increased contributions and changes to the General Pension Plan.  This is the same offer presented to the ATU, 615.

On September 20, 2014 the Transit union proposed a 22.25 % increase over five years; Friday October 10, 2014 city negotiators heard a 19% wage proposal over four years from ATU.

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