FPSLREB Decisions

The six complainants were civilian members (CMs) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – in decisions 2020 FPSLREB 105 through 109, the Board declared that CMs occupying positions in several occupational subgroups were included in the bargaining unit represented by the bargaining agent – the complainants alleged that their bargaining agent failed its duty of fair representation by not communicating effectively with the CMs – the bargaining agent requested that the complaint be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction – it argued that the complaint was about internal union matters and that it did not relate to issues that arose under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (S.C. 2003, c. 22, s. 2; “the Act”) – the Board found that the complaint fell outside the scope of the duty of fair representation – the complainants stated that they were not given information about union membership – the Board found that communication about membership rights in an employee organization does not fall under the Act and that it did not involve their relationship with their employer – they stated that the bargaining agent provided the CMs with the voting package for the 2023 strike late and that there were difficulties logging into the website to vote – the Board found that the conduct of the strike vote was regulated by s. 184 of the Act, not s. 187 – they alleged that the CMs were not properly informed about their participation in the strike and the right to strike pay – the Board found that these allegations did not involve an issue that arose under the Act – they alleged that the bargaining agent failed to inform them that it now represented them and other CMs – the Board found that the lack of communication was not in relation to an issue between an employee and their employer or other collective issues governed by the Act – the Board had no jurisdiction to hear the complaint.

Complaint dismissed.