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Question: My school board isn’t close to concluding a collective agreement with my bargaining unit. What happens if no agreement is in place December 31?
Answer: Under the government’s imposed settlement, outlined in the Assurance for Students Act, the matter is referred to individual voluntary interest arbitration pursuant to Division 15 of the Labour Relations Code.
The arbitration board cannot make any award that is contrary to the terms of the imposed settlement. A case management arbitrator will be appointed to expedite the process. The arbitrator provides oversight to the process, attempts to resolve issues informally, mediates disputes and provides case management directions to advance matters to arbitration. The arbitration board, in each dispute, considers the circumstances and issues an award. The dispute resolution process established in the imposed settlement is a replacement for the right to strike or lockout, and produces a binding award in each case.
At press time, agreements have not been reached in 28 of 62 jurisdictions. In some cases, school boards have refused to meet or have set conditions for meeting (probably unfair labour practices). Other boards have indicated that they want to proceed to arbitration. In some cases, only a few issues remain outstanding and agreements may be pending.
The Association’s preference is to reach agreement at the bargaining table, but where that is not possible, the ATA will make strong representation to the arbitration board for resolution of the items in dispute to achieve members’ needs. In each dispute, voluntary interest arbitration awards are to be handed down no later than April 30, 2014. ❚
Questions for consideration in this column are welcome. Please address them to Gordon Thomas at Barnett House (gordon.thomas@ata.ab.ca).
