The applicant union applied for certification to represent a bargaining unit consisting solely of Geographic Full-Time (GFT) secretaries employed by the responding hospital.
The hospital argued that the GFT secretaries did not constitute an appropriate bargaining unit and should be included in a larger unit of all clerical and administrative employees.
The Ontario Labour Relations Board found that while GFT secretaries had some distinct characteristics, such as precarious job security tied to individual physicians and a history of separate association, creating a separate bargaining unit for them would cause undue fragmentation and serious labour relations problems.
The Board concluded that the proposed unit was not viable for collective bargaining and dismissed the application.
