Kanata nuclear facility owner broke law during strike, labour board rules
Social Sharing
A federal labour board has found the owner of a west Ottawa nuclear facility broke the law by failing to negotiate with employees in good faith during a protracted strike.
About 40 Best Theratronics Ltd. (BTL) workers represented by Unifor returned to work late last month after securing an 11 per cent wage increase and a new collective agreement, more than nine months after walking off the job.
About a dozen workers represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) are still on strike.
Last week, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) upheld unfair labour practice complaints against the owner of the medical manufacturing company.
In separate complaints lodged last year, Unifor and PSAC accused the owner of BTL, Krishnan Suthanthiran, of breaching the Canada Labour Code.
CIRB heard the complaints as BTL is federally regulated as a licensed nuclear facility.
In a decision dated Feb. 27, the independent administrative tribunal found that BTL had failed to bargain in good faith, a breach of the code.
BTL also failed to give representatives authority to bargain on its behalf and had bargained in bad faith by disseminating false and misleading communications designed to influence the bargaining process, CIRB found.
Reasons for decision to come later
CIRB also found that BTL issued explicit anti-union statements, which undermined the unions in the eyes of bargaining unit employees. BTL's communications amounted to an attempt to interfere with the representation of PSAC's members, the board found.
Finally, CIRB concluded that BTL disseminated misinformation as a means of threatening, intimidating and coercing unionized workers so that they would not continue their affiliation with the complainants and exercise their collective bargaining rights.
The board said it would provide its reasoning at a later date.
CIRB also said that before exercising "its remedial powers" it had appointed an industrial relations officer to assist the parties in resolving the dispute, asking him to report back before March 31.
One union disappointed
In a statement, PSAC regional executive vice-president Ruth Lau MacDonald said they were happy CIRB recognized that BTL had violated the code.
But the union is "disappointed that the decision only entails a CIRB staff resource to be assigned and report back by March 31," she added.
"This means that the board is not making use of its remedial powers to fix the situation, while our workers have been on the picket line for almost 300 days now."
While the two sides are still trying to reach an agreement, BTL has not responded to PSAC since last Thursday, she said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
Postal workers' union files labour complaint against Canada Post
A Canada Post truck is seen on a road in Montreal on Tuesday, Dec.17, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has filed an official complaint against Canada Post over alleged unfair labour practices . In a statement released Wednesday, the union wrote that the complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) stemmed from the postal carrier 'bargaining directly with members,' conduct they say interferes with CUPW's exclusive bargaining rights. The union statement cited numerous behaviours allegedly undertaken by Canada Post, including 'captive audience meetings, videos, press releases, documents' and other means to direct audiences to the Crown corporation's website, methods they claim served to 'bypass the Union.' Communications materials included 'alarmist comments' and 'misinformation,' the statement alleges. 'The Union is asking the CIRB to order Canada Post to stop this interference, level the playing field by giving the Union opportunity to rebut the employer's misinformation on their platforms and order damages to the Union and members,' it reads. In a statement to CTV News Thursday morning, Canada Post rejected the union's allegations 'in their entirety,' including claims it had negotiated directly with its employees. 'Under the Canada Labour Code, employers are permitted to express views and communicate with employees during collective bargaining,' it reads. 'Canada Post has exercised this right responsibly, delivering accurate, neutral, and factual information … We remain fully committed to concluding collective agreements through the proper channels.' Carrier, union divided on next steps The complaint comes amid a push to bring Canada Post and the union representing its workers back to the bargaining table . On Wednesday, Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu asked the parties to resume negotiations with the aid of federal mediators, noting that 'Canadians expect the parties to resolve this dispute one way or another.' In recent days, Canada Post has asked Hajdu to order a vote on the carrier's most recent offer, while the union has requested binding arbitration to resolve the labour dispute. Both sides have released statements rejecting the other's proposed way forward. 'Canada Post is seeking a timely and fair resolution to restore stability to the postal system while ensuring employees have a voice in the process by allowing them to vote. The union's proposal to send the matter to binding arbitration would do the opposite,' a Sunday statement from the Crown corporation reads.
Cision Canada
30-05-2025
- Cision Canada
Statement from Canada Post - Canada Post requests a vote by CUPW-represented employees on the Corporation's final offers
OTTAWA, ON, May 30, 2025 /CNW/ - Canada Post has asked the Minister of Jobs and Families to exercise her authority, under section 108.1 of the Canada Labour Code, to direct that a vote take place, administered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), on the final offers submitted by Canada Post to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) on May 28, 2025. Canada Post and CUPW have been engaged in collective bargaining for the Urban and RSMC (Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers) bargaining units since November 2023. Despite months of conciliation and mediation, the parties remain unable to reach new agreements at the table. The parties have attempted new and traditional bargaining methods and tested out some issues through an integrative process, which was developed between the parties to encourage more open discussions at the table. Unfortunately, even with these efforts, and the completion of the Industrial Inquiry Commission (IIC) and release of its final report in May, the parties remain at an impasse. A path forward Canada Post agrees with the IIC's finding that "the best possible collective agreement … is the one that the parties themselves have fashioned rather than one imposed by a third party through interest arbitration." However, given the level of the impasse and CUPW's negotiating position, it is not possible to reach tentative agreements in the normal course. After more than 18 months of collective bargaining, we believe the best hope of achieving freely negotiated collective agreements is an employee vote administered by the CIRB under section 108.1 of the Canada Labour Code. In these circumstances, employees in each bargaining unit would have the opportunity to voice their decision by voting on Canada Post's final offers. Continued and wide-ranging impacts of the impasse The impasse, and CUPW's strike activity, have had a significant impact on the country, the Corporation and our employees. The impact of the 32-day strike at the end of 2024 on small businesses, charities and rural and remote communities has been well documented. For the Corporation, it's estimated the labour disruption contributed a net negative impact of $208 million toward its $841-million loss before tax in 2024. The company's business has continued to drop significantly since CUPW resumed strike activity in May 2025, with our parcel business already down by two-thirds compared to this time last year. The need to change for today's economy The IIC report concludes that "Canada Post is facing an existential crisis: It is effectively insolvent, or bankrupt. Without thoughtful, measured, staged, but immediate changes, its fiscal situation will continue to deteriorate." The seven recommendations contained in the IIC's final report chart a path to a negotiated resolution that allows Canada Post to meet the needs of Canadians and businesses in today's economy, help address the company's financial sustainability, and maintain good jobs. Canada Post's final offers reflect these recommendations entirely. We have also made key concessions in a serious attempt to reach new collective agreements. However, CUPW's negotiating position remains entirely at odds with the findings and recommendations of the IIC. Furthermore, CUPW has recently retracted its tentative agreement on key issues reached earlier this year. The vote process At this point, Canada Post has made the request to the Minister of Jobs and Families to exercise her authority, under section 108.1 of the Canada Labour Code, to direct that a vote take place, administered by the CIRB, on the final offers submitted by Canada Post to CUPW on May 28, 2025. Therefore, there is nothing further to share regarding a potential vote other than the fact that we will respect the Minister's decision.
Ottawa Citizen
25-05-2025
- Ottawa Citizen
Around 800 jobs to be cut Service Canada offices nationally
Article content Around 800 passport office jobs are expected to be cut across the country at the end of June due to a forecast of reduced applications from Service Canada. Article content In an email to this newspaper, a spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) said the decision was 'necessary and not taken lightly.' Article content The cuts will impact Service Canada offices nationally, the spokesperson added. They did not provide details about how many jobs from each service location will be cut, but did say all impacted employees have been notified. Article content Article content 'As a federal department, ESDC has an obligation to ensure sound fiscal management throughout the organization based on forecasted workload volumes. Revenues must be balanced with costs, including costs for employee salaries,' the email read. Article content Article content The job cuts come after the Canadian Revenue Agency announced it will cut 280 jobs, most of them in the National Capital Region. Article content The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents nearly 240,000 public service workers across the country, said the job cuts will threaten services that people rely on every day. Article content It will mean longer wait times at passport offices as well as weakened services for taxpayers and businesses, the union said. Article content 'Throughout the election, the Liberals promised 'caps, not cuts,' but each week, hundreds of federal workers are receiving notice that their jobs are being eliminated,' said Sharon DeSousa, PSAC national president, in a statement posted online. Article content
