The Labour Relations Board has ordered three unions, which refused to provide their collective agreements to the employers’ bargaining agent, to file the agreements with the Board.
The issue arose during a collective bargaining impasse between the Construction Labour Relations Association (“CLRA”) and the Bargaining Council of British Columbia Building Trade Unions (“BCBCBTU”). During the course of bargaining, the CLRA wrote to three unions represented by the BCBCBTU, requesting copies of their collective agreements. When the unions refused to provide the agreements, the CLRA applied to the Board for an order that the unions either provide the agreements or file them with the Board.
The Board ordered the unions to file the collective agreements with the Board pursuant to section 51 of the Labour Relations Code. That section requires the parties to a collective agreement to file a copy of the agreement with the Board within 30 days of its execution. The Board noted that the documents, once filed, would be public documents and therefore available to the CLRA on request.