Allan Shakes

The applicant union sought certification for a bargaining unit composed solely of Registered and Graduate Nursing Assistants (RNAs) at the responding hospital.

The hospital opposed the application, arguing that an RNA-only unit would lead to undue fragmentation and that a broader service or paramedical unit was appropriate.

The Board reviewed the specific facts, including the lack of interchange between RNAs and other classifications, the historical anomaly of the RNA role, and the employees' right to self-organization.

The majority of the Board concluded that the RNA-only unit was appropriate and granted the certification application.

One Board member dissented, citing concerns over fragmentation in the health care sector.

The Practical Nurses Federation of Ontario applied for certification to represent a unit of registered and graduate nursing assistants at the Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital.

The Hospital raised a preliminary objection based on res judicata, arguing that the Board had recently dismissed a prior application between the same parties for the same bargaining unit, finding it inappropriate.

The applicant argued that material facts had changed since the prior decision.

The Board held that the facts relied upon as 'new' were anticipated in the prior decision and did not constitute a material change sufficient to permit re-litigation.

The application was dismissed on the basis of issue estoppel, with one Board Member dissenting.

The applicant union objected to a Review Officer's order requiring the respondent hospital to equalize compensation between nurses and the manager of plant maintenance by providing a cash value for the difference in vacation entitlement.

The union argued that nurses should receive the increased vacation benefit instead of cash.

The Tribunal held that adjustments to achieve pay equity can be made to wages, benefits, or a combination of both.

Finding no evidence that increasing the vacation entitlement would cause the hospital undue hardship, the Tribunal revoked the Review Officer's order and directed the hospital to increase the nurses' vacation benefit to match the comparator job class.

The union filed an unfair labour practice complaint alleging that two hospitals violated the statutory freeze period under section 13 of the Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act by increasing employee parking fees during collective bargaining.

The Board dismissed the complaint, finding that the hospitals had a well-established pattern of periodically reviewing and adjusting parking rates.

The Board held that the increases constituted 'business as before' and did not violate the statutory freeze.