Carlton Cards Limited v. Canadian Paperworkers Union, 1991 CanLII 4455

0189-91 Inthematterofareferralundersubsection24(5) ofthe Pay Equity Act, 1987 relating to Carlton Cards Limited and the Canadian Paperworkers Union

Before: Beth Symes, Chair; Susan Genge and Janet Slone Taylor, Members

Cite As: Carlton Cards (1991), 2 P.E.R. 91

Review Services - Referrals

A review officer formed the opinion that an Employer was not complying with his order and referred the matter to the Tribunal. Neither the Employer nor the Union had applied to the Tribunal requesting a hearing about the order. Subsection 25(1)(c) of the Act requires the Tribunal to hold a hearing when it receives a referral from a review officer pursuant to ss.24(5). The purpose of a referral hearing is to determine whether a party has failed to comply with the review officer's order. The Tribunal must have evidence at the hearing on which to make sucha finding. If the Union is prepared to allege that the Employer has not complied it will be required to complete an application to substantiate its allegation.

Services de révision - Renvois

Un agent de révision était d'avis qu'un employeur ne respectait pas son ordre et a saisi le Tribunal de la question. Ni l'employeur ni le syndicat n'avaient demandéauTribunal de se faire entendre relativement à l'ordre. L'alinéa 25(1) c) de la Loi exige que le Tribunal tienne une audience lorsqu'un agent de révision lui renvoie une question aux termes du paragraphe 24(5). L'objet de cette audience est d'établir si une partie ne s'est pas conformé à l'ordre de l'agent de révision. Lors de l'audience, le Tribunal doit avoir des preuves sur lesquelles il peut se fonder pour arriver à une telle conclusion. Si le syndicat est prêt à alléguer que l'employeur n'a pas respecté l'ordre, il sera tenu de remplir une requête pour établir le bien-fondé de son allégation.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL, APRIL 12, 1991

1. On March 7, 1991 the Tribunal received areferralfromGeraldLee,aReviewOfficer,which stated thatMr. Leewasofthe opinionthatCarltonCards Ltd.wasnotcomplyingwithhisorder dated December 12, 1990. Mr. Lee referred this matter to the Tribunal under subsection 24(5).

ss.24(5) Whereanemployeror a bargaining agent fails to complywithanorder underthis section, a review officer may refer the matter to the Hearings Tribunal.

2 The Review Officer ordered Carlton Cards Limited and the Canadian Paperworkers Union and its Local 322 to negotiate one pay equity plan for all bargaining unit members employed by Carlton Cards Limited in the geographical divisions of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and the Regional Municipality of Peel. The Officer advised the parties that he would continue to monitor the parties' progress.

3. The Pay Equity Act [Pay Equity Act, 1987, S.O. 1987, c.34, as amended] provides that where a review officer is of the opinion that a pay equity plan is not being prepared as required by the Act, the

review officer may order the employer and the bargaining agent to take such steps as are set out in the order to preparethe plan[Pay Equity Act, supra, ss.24(1)]. The officer made his December order under this provision of the Act.

3 The parties must either comply with the order or dispute the contents of the order.

4 If the employer or bargaining agent named in this order wishes to dispute the contents of the order, theymustrequesta hearingbeforethe Hearings Tribunalwithrespectto the order [Pay Equity Act, supra, ss.24(6)]. To initiate such a hearing, the party must completeanapplicationrequestingthehearing,serve it on the other party, and file the application together with a statement of service with the Tribunal [Rules of Practice, Rule 1.01]. To date, neither the employer nor the bargaining agent has requested a hearing about this order.

5 The Tribunal has received a referral from the Review Officer in which the officer states that he is of the opinion that Carlton Cards is not complying with the order. Having received this referral, the Tribunal must hold a hearing as required by subsection 25(1)(c) of the Act.

s.25(1) The Hearings Tribunal shall hold a hearing,

(c) if a review officer refers a matter to the Hearings Tribunal under subsection 24(5).