CUPE Files Unfair Labour Practice,
Cites “Surface Bargaining” as Cause of Strike at CHS

In the normal course of bargaining, employers and unions exchange proposals and negotiate earnestly over weeks or months to find a middle ground. That is not what happened in the brief negotiations between Canadian Hearing Services (CHS) and CUPE 2073 – which broke down on April 28, resulting in what is now a four-week long strike.

In a submission to the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) last week, lawyers for CUPE 2073 – the union representing 206 workers at CHS – contend that the agency violated six sections of the Labour Relations Act, 1995; this includes, among other things, bargaining by ultimatum, interfering with the union’s ability to represent its members, and going through the legally mandated motions without any genuine intention of reaching a fair collective agreement.