PROBLEMS WITH TIMING DECISIONS FROM THE LABOUR BOARD OF PEI – PEI Federation of Labour PEI Federation of Labour Tue, 30 Jul 2024 16:02:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://peifed.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/81/2023/04/cropped-PEI-Favicon-32x32.png PROBLEMS WITH TIMING DECISIONS FROM THE LABOUR BOARD OF PEI – PEI Federation of Labour 32 32 PROBLEMS WITH TIMING DECISIONS FROM THE LABOUR BOARD OF PEI https://peifed.ca/problems-with-timing-decisions-from-the-labour-board-of-pei/ https://peifed.ca/problems-with-timing-decisions-from-the-labour-board-of-pei/#respond Tue, 30 Jul 2024 12:49:33 +0000 https://peifed.ca/?p=166 Jenn RedmondMinister of Workforce, Advanced Learning and PopulationShaw Building95-105 Rochford StreetCharlottetown, PE C1A 7N8July 30, 2024Minister Redmond,As workers and representatives of workers in P.E.I., we urge you to use the powers of youroffice to ensure the Labour Relations Board of P.E.I. provides timely decisions on workplacematters.We are a collection of union officials and workers who have found it difficult to resolve workplaceissues because of the lack of adherence by the labour board to reasonable timelines.As one example, media workers with the SaltWire Network organized their co-workers to file forunion certification last fall. These media workers organized in a time of...

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]]> Jenn Redmond
Minister of Workforce, Advanced Learning and Population
Shaw Building
95-105 Rochford Street
Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
July 30, 2024
Minister Redmond,
As workers and representatives of workers in P.E.I., we urge you to use the powers of your
office to ensure the Labour Relations Board of P.E.I. provides timely decisions on workplace
matters.
We are a collection of union officials and workers who have found it difficult to resolve workplace
issues because of the lack of adherence by the labour board to reasonable timelines.
As one example, media workers with the SaltWire Network organized their co-workers to file for
union certification last fall. These media workers organized in a time of absolute crisis in the
media industry because they felt that a union was their best shot at ensuring they had the
resources they needed to cover their communities.
When the SaltWire staff submitted an application for certification last October, they had no idea
they would still be waiting for a decision from the Labour Board of P.E.I. more than 9 months
later.
These delays have interfered with the ability of these workers to freely express their democratic
and human rights. A democratic process requires predictable timeframes to ensure its
legitimacy. In the case of the delays in the SaltWire certification application, stated timelines and
self-imposed deadlines were repeatedly not followed by the Board.
A clerical error in the initial application prompted an objection to the application from SaltWire
management in December 2023. While these objections were ultimately struck down by the
P.E.I. Labour Board as being technical errors that were corrected as of January 2024, a decision
on these objections still took six months. An ultimate decision on the certification has not, as of
this writing, been rendered by the board.
These delays have been costly. SaltWire filed for creditor protection in March and P.E.I. staff
have been left with no legal representation throughout this process.
Other unions have also been unable to obtain timely decisions from the Labour Board on a
variety of matters. We understand part of the issue stems from a senior staff-member who has
been off on medical leave.
While we sympathize with these circumstances, P.E.I.’s LRB should not be reliant on a single
person to maintain operations. Rendering the LRB unable to effectively function by failing to
backfill deprives unionized Islanders of their rights under the Labour Act.
Workers on P.E.I. need a labour board capable of producing timely decisions so that workers
can freely exercise their rights.
We request you use every avenue that you have as Minister to ensure the LRB has the
necessary staff resources and is accountable for making decisions in a more timely manner.
Signed,
Stu Neatby, Logan MacLean, Ryan Cadman, Kristin Gardiner
Organizing Committee Members of the Island News Guild, Local 30130
Carl Pursey, President
P.E.I. Federation of Labour
Willy Palov, President
Halifax Typographical Union Local 30130
CWA Canada
The Executive Board of International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 942
Jill McRae, President
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local B906
Greg Mountain, President
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 906
Margot Rejskind, executive director
UPEI Faculty Association
Dr. Andrea Bourque, President
UPEI Faculty Association

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