Fired workers granted arbitration

The fate of eight workers fired during the nearly year-long strike between Vale and Steelworkers Local 6500 will be determined through arbitration, according to a Ontario Labour Relations Board decision released Feb. 24.

The labour board has directed arbitration be held with respect to whether or not “Vale had just cause” to fire the men during the 2009-2010 strike.

The union had alleged that the company's refusal to allow an arbitrator to decide on the fired workers' fate held up negotiations during the nearly year-long strike, and thus, the company bargained in bad faith.

The 29-page-long decision, signed by labour board member Ian Anderson, said Vale breached section 17 of the Ontario Labour Relations Act, which deals with bargaining in bad faith.

“In the result, having regard to the circumstances and Vale's position, we conclude that Vale's position was patently unreasonable,” the labour board's decision said. “In maintaining that position to impasse, Vale was not making every reasonable effort to make a collective agreement.”

To read the full decision, visit http://www.olrb.gov.on.ca/Decision/3033-09-U_Vale-Inco.pdf.

Check back to NorthernLife.ca for more on this story as it becomes available.

Posted by Heidi Ulrichsen