Barbara Munroe v. Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1750 and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario
1390-01-U Barbara Munroe, Applicant v. Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1750 and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario, Responding Parties.
1401-01-U Barbara Munroe, Applicant v. Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1750, Responding Party.
BEFORE: Mary Anne McKellar, Vice-Chair.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; August 17, 2001
1These are applications under section 96 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the "Act"), which were filed with the Board on August 10, 2001.
2In Board File No. 1390-01-U the applicant alleges contraventions of sections 72 and 74 of the Act, and has named both the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario (the "Employer") and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1750 ("CUPE") as responding parties. In Board File No. 1401-01-U the applicant alleges a contravention of section 74 of the Act, and has named CUPE as the responding party.
3By letter dated August 15, 2001, prior to filing its response in this matter, CUPE has requested that the Board dismiss the application in Board File No. 1390-01-U "on the basis that an individual employee is not a proper applicant in a matter filed under section 96 of the Act . . . [and] the Board would not have authority to order the damages the individual employee-Applicant is seeking against the Respondent Employer under Section 72 and 74 of the ACT". CUPE does not seek to have the Board dismiss the application in Board File No. 1401-01-U.
4By letter also dated August 15, 2001 (but received in the Board's offices after 5:00 p.m. on that date), the applicant's counsel opposed CUPE's request.
5The Employer has not yet filed a response in respect of Board File No. 1390-01-U, nor has it written in response to the above-mentioned exchange of correspondence between the Applicant and CUPE.
6Upon review of the applications filed in this matter, the Board notes that the applicants' allegations with respect to CUPE's behaviour and the relief sought in respect of that behaviour in Board File No. 1390-01-U replicate the allegations and relief sought against CUPE in Board File No. 1401-01-U. The only material difference between the two applications is the addition in Board File No. 1390-01-U of two paragraphs requesting relief against the Employer, and one paragraph containing allegations with respect to the Employer's conduct.
7Individual employees have standing to bring section 96 applications in respect of contraventions of section 72 and 74 of the Act. CUPE's request that the application in Board File No. 1390-01-U be dismissed is hereby declined.
8In making this determination, the Board has only considered CUPE's request that the application in Board File No. 1390-01-U be dismissed on the basis of the applicant's lack of standing. The Board has made no determination with respect to whether the application might be summarily dismissed on other grounds.
"Mary Anne McKellar"
for the Board