Fire damage restoration at a refinery is construction work requiring application of the provincial construction agreement.
The applicant union referred a grievance to the Board alleging that the respondent employer applied the wrong collective agreement to fire damage restoration work at a refinery.
The employer had applied the maintenance agreement, while the union argued the construction agreement should apply.
The Board found that the repair of the fire-damaged unit, which had ceased to function, constituted work in the construction industry under s. 1(1)(f) of the Labour Relations Act.
Because the work was in the industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) sector, only the provincial construction agreement could apply pursuant to s. 146(2) of the Act.
The Board rejected the employer's arguments that the union was estopped from claiming damages due to past practice or undue delay.
The grievance was allowed, and the Board remained seized of the damages quantum.
International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators & Asbestos Workers et al. v. Inscan Contractors (Ontario) Inc., 1986 CanLII 1485
