August 26, 2010

Arbitrator's ruling on Guild jurisdiction going to judicial review

The Montreal Newspaper Guild is appealing a Quebec arbitrator's decision that allows The Gazette to outsource work that has been under union jurisdiction for almost 30 years.

David Wilson, the CWA Canada staff representative who was involved in the hearings that wrapped up in May, says everyone was astonished that arbitrator Jean Pierre Lussier ruled in favour of the employer.

Noting that Lussier's ruling contains contradictory statements, Wilson says the MNG considers the decision "unreasonable" and will seek a judicial review.

Wilson says they were puzzled that Lussier found there "was not a meeting of the minds" when the jurisdiction clauses were introduced in 1981.

MNG president Mona Leroux says she's "as puzzled as everyone else with Lussier's ruling."

The union has six months to submit written affidavits.

The original grievance was filed in 2007 when Canwest arranged for its non-unionized plant in Hamilton to assemble some of the Gazette's pages. The practise grew to encompass entire sections of the newspaper and then spread to other departments, with the MNG grieving every offence.

From the outset of bargaining in 2008, management insisted on changing the interpretation of the jurisdiction clause. As a result, two bargaining units at The Gazette — Editorial and Reader Sales and Service (RSS) — have been without a contract since June 2008.

Even while talks were ongoing that summer, 45 RSS employees were laid off and their work outsourced to Winnipeg. Then editorial department and business office functions were transferred outside the province.

The Guild maintains that contracts for both bargaining units "clearly prohibit the assignment of such work either to employees of the same employer not covered by our collective agreement or to employees outside The Gazette."

The Gazette, which is under new ownership, continues to outsource work, including that of Retail and Classified advertising to Calgary.