Murray Hynes

The applicant City requested a hearing regarding a Review Officer's order directing the parties to complete and implement a pay equity plan.

The respondent union moved to dismiss the application for failing to establish a prima facie case.

The Tribunal held that it has the authority to dismiss an application without a hearing on the merits if the written material fails to disclose a case that the Tribunal can remedy.

Finding that the City's application merely expressed general dissatisfaction with the job comparison system without alleging facts that would constitute a violation of the Pay Equity Act, the Tribunal dismissed the application for failure to establish a prima facie case.

The applicant union applied under section 63(6) of the Labour Relations Act, arguing that following the respondent city's purchase of a transit business five and a half years earlier, there had been sufficient intermingling of employees to warrant a declaration altering bargaining rights.

The Board dismissed the application, holding that section 63(6) is designed to address representational problems closely related in time to a sale.

Given the significant lapse of time and the fact that collective agreements had been negotiated in the interim, the Board found it inappropriate to exercise its discretion, noting that any current representational conflicts should be resolved through grievance arbitration or jurisdictional dispute proceedings.