Council of Graphic Arts Unions of the Public Service of Canada and Canada Communication Group

Full Text

161-28-779
Council of Graphic Arts Unions of the Public Service of Canada and Canada Communication Group

Before: Y. Tarte
Appearances: J. Shields, for the Complainant; S. Chaplin, for the Respondent
Decision rendered: January 16, 1996

Complaint under paragraph 23(1)(b) of the Public Service Staff Relations Act - Failure to implement arbitral award - Public Sector Compensation Act - as respondent employer had failed to adduce any cogent evidence, either before the Chairperson when he established the terms of reference for the arbitration board or before the arbitration board itself, that Treasury Board had exercised its jurisdiction under subsection 7(2) of the Public Sector Compensation Act to alter the compensation plan which was in force in February 1991, the arbitration board had awarded that compensation plan (Board file 185-28-364) - as employer had not implemented the award, bargaining agent submitted this complaint - at the hearing into the complaint, employer presented a certified extract from the minutes of a meeting of Treasury Board held in Ottawa on June 2, 1993, which purported to authorize a change to the compensation plan pursuant to subsection 7(2) of the Compensation Act - in addition, Board had before it a certified true copy of another extract from the minutes of a meeting of the Treasury Board held in Ottawa on June 15, 1995, which directed employer not to implement the arbitral award insofar as its implementation conflicted with the changes to the compensation plan made under subsection 7(2) of the Compensation Act - the employer submitted that, under the circumstances, the Board should not order the employer to implement the award to the extent that it conflicted with the directions of the Treasury Board - the Board pointed out that its jurisdiction under paragraph 23(1)(b) of the Act is quite narrow - the Board has no authority to review the arbitral award - as employer conceded that it had not fully implemented the arbitral award, the Board allowed the complaint and ordered the employer to implement the award - the Board suggested that, if the parties were unable to resolve this matter through negotiations, then a court of competent jurisdiction would have to resolve it for them.

Complaint allowed.