Labour & Employment Law
We advise and represent trade unions on a wide range of matters, including collective agreement negotiations, grievance arbitration and mediation, certification and de-certification applications, single employer and successorship applications, duty of fair representation complaints, unfair labour practices complaints, and strikes and lockouts, health benefits plans, and pension plans. We have litigated grievances concerning matters such as discipline, termination, refusals to hire, drug and alcohol testing and discipline, layoffs, overtime, seniority, vacations and statutory holidays, privacy and surveillance, discrimination, return-to-work issues, harassment, workplace safety, and training. We have extensive experience with trade union internal governance issues, such as drafting and amending union constitutions, elections, general meetings, and membership discipline issues. We have represented trade unions before the BC Labour Relations Board, the Canada Industrial Relations Board, the BC Supreme Court, the Federal Court, and the Federal Court of Appeal.
We also advise and represent employees and employers on employment law issues such as employment contracts, terminations (both with and without cause), human rights, constructive dismissals, misconduct, WorkSafeBC matters, non-compete/solicitation clauses, and other employment-related issues.
Representative Work
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In 2015-2016, we represented a trade union in proceedings before the Federal Court to seek judicial review of the federal government’s granting of work permits to foreign nationals to work as crewmembers of foreign-flagged vessels engaging in cabotage (coasting trade) in Canadian waters. We provided evidence that this practice harmed the Canadian maritime labour market, as the foreign nationals were being paid wages that were far lower than the Canadian prevailing wage – in some cases, as low as $2.41/hour. In 2017, we negotiated a settlement agreement in which the federal government agreed to substantially alter its practices concerning the granting of work permits for the crews of foreign vessels engaging in cabotage in Canadian waters.
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In 2019, we represented a trade union in proceedings before the Canada Industrial Relations Board to amend the union’s certification after the employer retired a vessel and replaced it with another vessel. The employer opposed the union’s application and took the position that the union would need to seek a new certification for the replacement vessel. In Seafarers’ International Union of Canada v Labrador Marine Inc., 2020 CIRB 942, the Board granted the application and held that the union would not need to seek a new certification.
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In 2019, a trade union applied to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for an order merging two different bargaining units belonging to two different employers, even though the Board had refused previously to issue a single employer declaration in respect of those bargaining units. We sought intervenor status and argued that the proposed order would contravene the Canada Labour Code. The Board agreed with our client and refused to grant the order. In Canadian Merchant Service Guild v Algoma Central Corporation, 2022 FCA 155, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld this decision.
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In 2020, we represented a trade union in a grievance that challenged the employer’s decision to ban seafarers from taking shore leave during the COVID-19 pandemic, contrary to the Maritime Personnel Regulations. We negotiated a settlement agreement in which the employer and the union agreed to establish a bipartite committee to determine the circumstances under which shore leave would be allowed.
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In 2023-2024, a grievor was terminated during her probation period, allegedly for engaging in unsafe conduct. In 2024, we represented the trade union and grievor and the arbitrator held that the employer acted in bad faith and terminated the grievor on false pretences, defamed the grievor’s reputation as a safe worker, discriminated against the grievor on the grounds of disability, and retaliated against the grievor for raising safety concerns. The arbitrator awarded damages for wrongful dismissal, plus moral and punitive damages.