May 9, 2022 at 5:00 PM
The Unifor bargaining committee initially met with the Employer virtually on March 10, 2022 to open bargaining. Further meetings took place the week of April 11th, 2022. By the end of this session, the Union – in good faith – provided the Employer all proposals. It was agreed-to by the parties that a response would be provided by the Employer prior to meeting next, which was agreed to begin on Monday, May 9, 2022 and continue throughout the week.
Unfortunately, despite having one full month to prepare, Skylink Express was not prepared to respond to the full package of proposals that had been provided by the Union the week of April 11, nor was the Employer prepared to meet with the Union to continue with the negotiations process.
As a result, Unifor has filed a notice of dispute to the Federal Minister of Labour. Under this process, the Minister will appoint a Federal Conciliation Officer within 15 days of receipt of the notice. Once a Conciliator has been appointed, the conciliation process will begin.
WHAT IS CONCILIATION?
- Unifor files a Notice of Dispute to the Federal Minister of Labour
- Minister will appoint a Federal Conciliation Officer within 15 days
- The Conciliator will meet with the Union and Employer over a 60-day period to facilitate negotiations
- The parties may agree to extend the conciliation period if negotiations are progressing
- Conciliator files report to the Federal Minister of Labour once conciliation period is complete
- The parties enter a 21 day “cooling off” and mediation period
- At the end of the 21 days if no agreement has been reached the Mediator will file an additional report with the Minister of labour
- While in the conciliation and the “cooling off” mediation period, the Company may not lock out employees and the Union may not take strike action. Strike action is only ever taken as a very last resort and only after conditions (such as a strike vote and 72 hours advance notice) are met.
More information can be found via the following link.
NEXT STEPS
A schedule will be assigned outlining next meeting(s) between the Union, Employer and Conciliation Officer. Once we have these details, we will ensure to communicate the information with you.
In Solidarity,
Your Unifor Bargaining Committee
Andrew Henry, Bargaining Committee Member
Denise Cochrane, Assistant to the Local 2002 President
Bruce Snow, Unifor National Transportation Director
For more information, please contact: Denise Cochrane, Assistant to the Local 2002 President
/22-05-09 SkyLink Pilots Bargaining Update EN.txt