Leonard Feldt

In an application for certification, the Ontario Labour Relations Board held a hearing to determine the appropriate bargaining unit, specifically regarding the impact of the Trades Qualification Act.

After reviewing the provincial collective agreement filed by the parties, the Board requested written representations clarifying whether all employee categories listed under the union recognition clause are required to hold Trades Qualification Act documentation.

The responding party employer brought a motion to bar the applicant union from bringing a second certification application.

The union had withdrawn its first application shortly before a scheduled representation vote due to a defective A-74 form, which the employer argued caused unnecessary trouble, expense, and lost production time.

The Board dismissed the motion, noting its long-standing practice of permitting a union to withdraw an application prior to a vote without a bar unless a manifest abuse of process is demonstrated.

The Board found the union's error was inadvertent and a single error did not warrant imposing a bar.