Ontario Labour Relations Board
[1988] OLRB Rep. April 374
T-144-86 Canadian Union of Public Employees, Applicant v. Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 16, Respondent
BEFORE: Owen V. Gray, Vice-Chair, and Board Members D. A. MacDonald and E. G. Theobald.
APPEARANCES: S. R. Hennessy, Ron Moreau and Gilles LeBel for the applicant; no one appearing for the respondent.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; April 5, 1988
1The applicant assumed supervision and control of the affairs of the respondent on December 22, 1986. This is an application under section 82(2) of the Labour Relations Act for the Board's consent to an extension of that supervision and control for the one year period beginning
December 22, 1987.
2The functioning of the respondent local was seriously impaired by internal frictions from a number of causes. As a result, a substantial portion of its membership in fact sought the imposition by the parent union of supervision in December 1986. There is no question before us of the propriety of imposition of supervision under the applicant's constitution by the parent union.
3The applicant's administrator has taken a number of steps to address the very serious problems which led to the membership's request for supervision. While he is hopeful that these will ultimately restore the local's ability to function both democratically and responsibly, a further period of supervision is necessary in order to bring those steps to a conclusion and assess their results.
4We are satisfied that the respondent local could not be expected to function if the supervision were brought to a premature end by a refusal of consent under sub-section 82(2). We have considered whether our consent should be for a period of less than one year. Having regard to the evidence before us and the total absence of opposition to this application by any member of the local, we are satisfied that the question whether supervision should be brought to an end before the end of the one year period should be left to be determined by the parties under the relevant provisions of their national constitution.
5Accordingly, the application is hereby granted.