Bargaining in a COVID Economy. Get Informed – It’s Your Right

For unions, another round of negotiations has often meant getting back into a familiar pattern: deliver notice to bargain, prepare proposals, have a series of sometimes constructive, sometimes frustrating discussions across the bargaining table, perhaps resort to strike or face a lockout, then arrive at a collective agreement. We are living in a different world.  Do not assume same-old is the same old. A union may have a right to... Read More

Supreme Court Finds RCMP Pension Scheme Discriminates Against Women

On October 16, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a Charter challenge to portions of the RCMP pension plan, which had been applied to prevent employees from buying back periods of service during which they had temporarily reduced hours of work for childcare reasons. In its decision, the majority of the Supreme Court concluded that the pension law had a disproportionate, negative impact on women due to their sex. Particularly,... Read More

Sean McGee Speaks at Human Rights and Labour Conference

On October 20-21, 2020, Sean McGee presented as part of Lancaster House’s annual Ottawa Human Rights and Labour Law Conference. Sean presented as part of the panel “2020 Vision – Key Precedents from an Unprecedented Year,” which reviewed recent, important labour and human rights decisions. Read More

Morgan Rowe Presents on Employers’ Duty to Address Workplace Stress

On October 20, 2020, Morgan Rowe presented as part of a professional learning program presented jointly by Lancaster House and the University of Toronto. The multi-day program addressed managing and promoting mental health in the workplace. Morgan spoke as part of a panel on employers’ legal obligations to address workplace stress and other workplace mental health issues. Read More

Is there recourse for COVID-19 discrimination?

Ravenlaw gratefully acknowledges the contribution of this post by articling student Simcha Walfish. As the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has noted, the “COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a rise in stigma and discrimination against people who have the virus; people from countries where the virus originated or are considered hot zones; people who have travelled recently; or even those who it is believed have come in contact with... Read More

Bargaining Unit Positions May Be Tied to Work Location, Trigger Job Posting and Seniority Rights

In a recent grievance decision between the Limestone District School Board and CUPE Local 1480, Arbitrator Jesse Nyman found that changing a bargaining unit member’s work location may eliminate a position and create a vacancy, triggering the mandatory posting provisions of a collective agreement. In 2013, the Employer decided to close two of its secondary schools in Kingston, Ontario and to construct a new secondary school. The grievance began when... Read More

Alison McEwen to Present at Labour and Human Rights Conference

On December 8, 2020, Alison McEwen will be speaking as part of Lancaster House’s annual “Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector” conference. Alison will present as part of a panel on bargaining and negotiation priorities in the post-COVID-19 world. The panel will discuss how the pandemic has caused broader policy shifts and how these shifts are likely to affect bargaining in the public sector. Read More

Wassim Garzouzi Appointed President of Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers

RavenLaw is pleased to announce that one of its partners, Wassim Garzouzi, has been unanimously appointed as the President of the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers (CALL) as of July 30, 2020. CALL is a voluntary organization comprised of approximately 600 lawyers who represent the labour movement across Canada. The Association endeavours to protect and advance the interests of workers in the forums where labour law is made and administered.... Read More

Sean McGee Inducted as Fellow of College of Labour and Employment Lawyers

On November 14, 2020, Sean McGee was inducted as a Fellow of the College of Labour and Employment Lawyers. The College was founded in the United States. It is an organization that promotes achievement, advancement and excellence in the practice of labour and employment law, as well as working to establish leadership, high standards of professionalism, and civility among labour and employment lawyers. The College has fellows in the United... Read More

You don’t need to wait for the pandemic to end to unionize your workplace

Ravenlaw gratefully acknowledges the contribution of this post by articling student Simcha Walfish. Although we may live and work in “unprecedented” times, your rights to unionize your workplace have not changed. In several cases across the country, labour relations boards have rejected employers’ claims that the COVID-19 pandemic is no time to unionize. Even where it is unsafe to hold an in-person vote, the staff was laid off, or the... Read More