Christopher Reynolds, Canadian Press Published Thursday, June 9, 2022, 3:23 PM EDT Last Updated on Thursday, June 9, 2022, 3:24 PM EDT
A union representing SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.’s engineers has filed a complaint with the National Labor Council, alleging they were negotiating in bad faith after a subsidiary ordered workers to return to the full-time office with one-day notice.
On June 2, Candu Energy Inc. authorized all employees to return to work from Monday, a requirement that the Society of Professional Engineers and Associates (SPEA) said was a tactic for a rotation strike that began on May 29 at the Darlington Nuclear Power Plant in Ontario. Candu is repairing.
In a copy of the note received from The Canadian Press, SNC Executive Vice President Bill Fox reminded workers that the hybrid work model proposed to begin on September 12 is “on the table”, meaning that the suddenly announced full-time job day “the office work policy may change when the negotiation is over.”
Union spokesman Denise Coombs said SNC-Lavalin’s sudden move to bring about 900 engineers, scientists and technicians back to the office five days a week has forced them to fight for housing after more than two years of remote work. This is tantamount to unfair employment practices in the context of the bargaining process, according to the union’s submission to the Canadian Labor Council.
“We all knew it would take time for people to reorganize their lives, to take care of the children, to return to the city, all that,” Coombs said in an interview.
Both sides have agreed on September 12 as the starting date for hybrid work, she said. The main discussions were whether it should be an average of three days a week or two and a half, as well as salary, benefits and whether the union will be allowed to publish some internal documents.
The union received a proposal for a collective bargaining agreement at a meeting on June 2nd, where the company also gave him information about his upcoming note to return to the office, Coombs said.
“The clear suggestion was that if the SPEA did not accept Candu’s offer on June 2, Candu would retaliate and force employees to return to the office with a notice of just over one working day and on a five-day basis,” the statement said. document.
“We were shocked,” Coombs said.
SNC spokesman Harold Fortin said the company hopes to reach a “fair, equitable and competitive agreement” with workers at Candu, who are repairing reactors at the Darlington nuclear power plant.
“With changes in provincial restrictions, people are becoming more accustomed to being together indoors, and it’s time to return to the physical workplace,” he said in an email.
Fortin pointed out the cooperation, training and integration of new employees among the advantages of returning to a shared workspace.
The Montreal-based company declined to comment on collective bargaining, which expired on December 31.
Tensions between SNC and the union prompted Ontario Power Generation and Bruce Power to warn that they would have to consider “alternative arrangements” if both sides could not provide “security” in their services.
“This letter should not be taken as support for any of the parties, as we respect the collective bargaining process and at the same time expect to be treated as customers and not as a negotiating point,” said OPG CEO Ken Hartwick and Bruce Power CEO Michael Renchek in a letter to SNC and the union on Tuesday and received by The Canadian Press.
Crown Provincial Corporation owns the Darlington Nuclear Power Plant, and SNC provides services to Bruce Power, including an ongoing reactor upgrade at the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant on Lake Huron.
Between 30 and 70 Candu workers are shutting down about 700 a day on a strike rotation, the union said.
“We are now preparing for a big dispute,” said union spokeswoman Michelle Duncan. We are planning a complete escalation.
Add Comment