The Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board (PSLREB) has affirmed our union’s right to visit worksites during collective bargaining with Treasury Board.
“This is a significant victory, as it allows us to freely communicate with our members in their workplaces during collective bargaining and inform them of their rights,” said PSAC National President Robyn Benson.
PSAC filed an unfair labour practice complaint to the PSLREB on February 2015, after three federal departments refused our negotiators’ request to visit and attend a union meeting at our members’ worksites.
Precedent
We argued in the hearing that our negotiators had been allowed in the past, on several occasions and in several departments, to visit and hold on-site meetings during collective bargaining.
We cited a similar case in the past where the PSLREB decided in our favour and ordered the employer to grant the union access to the workplace.
We also argued that workplace visits are important for our negotiators to thoroughly understand the workplace conditions and issues that our members face in preparation for bargaining.
The employer argued that the collective agreement provides limited conditions that allow the union to visit worksites and does not have any provisions for walkthroughs and on-site meetings.
Board decision
The Board found that the employer did in fact interfere in legal union activities in all three cases and ordered the employer to cease denying access in the absence of a compelling and justifiable business purpose.