R. Harford

The applicant applied to terminate the union's bargaining rights.

A representation vote was held and the ballot box was sealed due to disputes over voter eligibility.

The Board held a hearing to determine whether the employees were working in the industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) construction sector or performing maintenance work on the date of application.

Applying established Board jurisprudence, the Board found that the work performed—repairing non-operational air conditioning systems—constituted construction work rather than maintenance.

The Board directed a Labour Relations Officer to meet with the parties to address remaining issues.

The applicant union referred a grievance to arbitration under section 133 of the Labour Relations Act, alleging that the responding party employer failed to apply the collective agreement to certain work.

The central issue was whether various HVAC repair and service tasks performed by the employer constituted 'construction' or 'maintenance' work.

The Board analyzed a sample of work orders, applying the established test that construction involves additions or restoring a non-functioning system, while maintenance preserves an operating system.

The Board allowed the grievance for some work orders (found to be maintenance) and dismissed it for others (found to be construction or where the union failed to meet its evidentiary burden).