As we reported earlier this week, the federal court heard our arguments concerning the ability to deal with seniority-based proposals in arbitration. The bargaining team is seeking these provisions for both field interviewers – those who conduct surveys door-to-door – and regional office employees, those who conduct surveys by phone.
Mary Anne Walker, regional vice-president for Ontario and a member of the bargaining team, was able to attend the October 8 hearing.
“The question before the court is: did the arbitrator make a mistake to rule that the two clauses couldn’t be arbitrated,” explained Walker.
Walker was quick to commend Andrew Raven, who represented the SSOs.
“He did an excellent job,” said Walker. “We felt very good afterwards; we felt our presentation was very good.”
The case before the court will undoubtedly set a precedent. But all these judicial hoops we’ve had to jump through to get there have delayed justice for our SSO members; people who are eagerly waiting to be treated fairly in the workplace.
“We can’t thank our members enough for being patient and waiting. It’s not that anyone is trying to not communicate information; things have been at a standstill as we waited for this judicial review.”