The complainant alleged that her union breached its duty of fair representation under section 68 of the Labour Relations Act by failing to process her termination grievance to arbitration.
The union admitted the breach and agreed to a remedial order directing the grievance to arbitration and waiving the collective agreement's time limits.
The employer opposed the order, arguing the Board lacked jurisdiction to waive time limits because section 44(6) of the Act delegates that power exclusively to arbitrators.
The Board held that section 89(4) grants it broad remedial authority to override collective agreement provisions, including time limits, and that section 44(6) does not make an arbitrator's jurisdiction exclusive.
However, the Board ruled that it could not issue the consent order without a hearing on the merits, as the employer is a proper party and is entitled to put the complainant to the proof of her case before any remedy affecting the employer is granted.
