Unifor Files for Conciliation with Swissport Montreal – District #418

November 28, 2022 at 2:45 PM

Since negotiations began, the Bargaining Committee has met with the Company on several occasions. The Committee has been making positive progress and has reached an agreement with the Company on several issues. However, negotiations are not proceeding as expeditiously as we would like.  
 
After meeting with the Company on November 18, we were unable to reach an agreement.  We have reached an impasse in the current round of negotiations and as a result, Unifor filed a notice of the dispute to the Federal Minister of Labour on November 25.  Once a Conciliator has been appointed, the conciliation process will begin.
 
WHAT IS CONCILIATION?

1.  Unifor files a Notice of Dispute to the Federal Minister of Labour
2. Minister will appoint a Federal Conciliation Officer within 15 days
3. The Conciliator will meet with the Union and Employer over a 60-day period to facilitate negotiations
4. The parties may agree to extend the conciliation period if negotiations are progressing
5. The conciliator files a report to the Federal Minister of Labour once the conciliation period is complete
6. The parties enter a 21-day “cooling off” and mediation period
7. 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
8. 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.

   
NEXT STEPS
Let us be clear: this filing does not mark an end to our efforts. It demonstrates our commitment to negotiating the best possible deal for members during these challenging times.  As your elected Bargaining Committee, we feel that requesting conciliation will help our union move the bargaining process along.   Once the minister appoints a conciliator and provides dates of the conciliation process, we will advise the membership.
 
We would like to thank the members for their continuing show of support. Please ensure that you have subscribed to Unifor 2002’s e-news service at www.unifor2002.org.
 
In Solidarity,
Your Unifor Bargaining Committee
Clara Riccio
Tariq Osman
Josée Genois
Jean-Stéphane Mayer, Unifor National representative