3095-99-U Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 79, Applicant v. City of Toronto, Responding Party.
BEFORE: Timothy W. Sargeant, Vice-Chair, and Board Members J. A. Ronson and R. R. Montague.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; March 20, 2000
This is an application brought pursuant to section 96 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the “Act”) that the responding party has breached section 86 of the Act.
In its response the responding party submits, inter alia, that the Board should exercise its discretion not to hear this application and dismiss the matter without a hearing, because the applicant has also filed a grievance against the responding party in respect of essentially the same issue. In a decision dated February 23, 2000 the Board requested further submissions on this issue.
The Board has now received such submissions. It should be noted that in its submissions dated March 14, 2000 the applicant seeks to amend its application “to include a violation of section 70 of the Act”. On this later issue the responding party submits that this allegation “could have been raised in the Application, and that this is an improper expansion of the Complaint”.
The Board having considered the submissions of the parties, is not prepared to at this time to dismiss this application without a hearing. The application under the Act raises issues that in the Board’s view are not identical to those issues that might proceed to an arbitration under the collective agreement.
Further the Board in these circumstances will exercise its discretion and allow the applicant to amend its application to include an allegation that the responding party has breached section 70 of the Act.
The Board however, would encourage the parties to try and resolve their differences. There must be an obvious concern by the parties themselves that much of the evidence that would be raised before a potential arbitration board and before this Board would be of a similar nature.
The matter is directed to the Registrar to set a hearing date.
This panel does not remain seized.
“Timothy W. Sargeant”
for the Board