The complainant union alleged that the respondent employer committed unfair labour practices by discharging two telephone operators for their union activity and by violating the statutory freeze period.
The employer claimed the discharges were due to the failure of an experimental telephone dispatch system.
The Board found that the employer failed to discharge its reverse onus to prove the terminations were free of anti-union animus, given the employer's knowledge of the employees' union support and previous anti-union conduct.
The Board also held that the unilateral elimination of the telephone operator classification and the alteration of the dispatchers' hours of work during the freeze period violated section 70(2) of the Labour Relations Act.
The employer was ordered to reinstate the grievors with compensation.
