Start of bad faith bargaining hearings postponed again

An Ontario Labour Relations Board hearing to deal with Steelworkers Local 6500's claim that Vale bargained in bad faith during the nearly year-long labour dispute between the two parties has once again been postponed.

The hearings were originally supposed to start Jan. 6, but were postponed until Jan. 13 to give the union more time to examine material provided by Vale just before Christmas.

On Jan. 12, Vale provided the Steelworkers' lawyer, Brian Shell, with 75 pages of handwritten notes that the company's chief negotiator, Harvey Beresford, had written during the negotiations.

Shell requested that Jan. 13 hearing be postponed until Jan. 17 to give him time to examine these notes.

The hearings are due to continue Jan. 25 and Feb. 16-17 and 24-25.

Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand said there have been no new dates for hearings scheduled, although the start date has been postponed twice. He said Shell will likely talk to the labour board about adding more dates as necessary.

Local 6500 is alleging that the company's refusal to allow an arbitrator to decide whether or not eight workers fired during the nearly year-long labour dispute should be given their jobs back was a breach of its duty to bargain in good faith, because the issue held up negotiations.

Vale spokesperson Angie Robson said in an e-mail statement earlier this month the company is “confident that once the facts are fully presented, the union's allegation of bad faith (bargaining) will be dismissed and the board will conclude that the company bargained in good faith throughout and made every reasonable effort to conclude a collective agreement.”