Employer violated statutory freeze by withholding vacation benefit from bargaining unit pending interest arbitration.
The applicant union alleged that the employer hospital violated the statutory freeze period under the Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act and the Labour Relations Act.
The employer had granted non-bargaining unit staff an extra week of vacation in exchange for a zero percent wage increase, but refused to grant the extra vacation to bargaining unit members unless they also agreed to the wage freeze, despite pending interest arbitration.
The Board found that the bargaining unit employees had a reasonable expectation to receive the same vacation benefit as non-union staff based on past practice.
The Board directed the employer to grant the bargaining unit employees the same compensation package granted to non-bargaining unit employees.
Ontario Nurses' Association v. The Board of Governors of the Belleville General Hospital, 1994 CanLII 9836
