Ontario Labour Relations Board Update

Effective December 12, 2019 the Public Service Alliance of Canada has been certified by the Ontario Labour Relations Board as the exclusive bargaining agent for all persons employed by Wilfrid Laurier University as Graduate Teaching Assistants in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and the City of Brantford who are registered at Wilfrid Laurier University as graduate students, save and except supervisors and those above the rank of supervisor.

This means that the employer cannot settle wages and working conditions directly with the employees in the bargaining unit, whether they are union members or not, or negotiate with a union other than the one that has been - 16 - certified. The employer must negotiate with the union that has been certified and that union only. [s. 73(1)]

It is expected that the Union will provide notice to bargain in the next few days and the parties are required must meet within 15 days from the giving of notice, unless they agree to some other time period. [ss. 16, 17, 59]

Both the union and the employer have a legal obligation to bargain in good faith and make every reasonable effort to enter into a collective agreement. [s. 17]

Until a first collective agreement is ratified between the university and the Union, all existing terms and conditions of employment for Graduate Teaching Assistants will remain the same.

 The University will continue to populate students.wlu.ca with updates on the bargaining process.