Post by IAMCAPER on Jun 15, 2005 8:54:29 GMT -4
Sydney - The Cape Breton Regional Municipality has filed a bad-faith bargaining complaint against the union representing regional police in contract talks.
Halifax lawyer Eric Durnford claims in the complaint that the goal of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, which represents the 169 unionized officers in the Cape Breton Regional Police Service, has been to establish a favourable position for binding arbitration, and that it has no genuine interest in actually reaching a contract.
The NSGEU is representing a police force for the first time in the contract talks, which are also the first for both sides since the Nova Scotia government proclaimed legislation imposing binding arbitration on police forces across the province, if contract talks fail to reach an agreement.
The union is seeking wage parity with police in the Halifax Regional Municipality and the hiring of more officers. First class constables in the Cape Breton Regional Police Service, with four years service, earn $52,554 compared to $62,000 for their counterparts in Halifax.
Durnford says in the bad-faith complaint, filed last month with the Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board, that talks broke down during a session May 10 when the NSGEU delivered an ultimatum that wage parity with Halifax is the minimum acceptable offer.
He also quoted NSGEU president Joan Jessome’s comments in a story in the Cape Breton Post in March, a week before any negotiations began, that it will bargain from day one as if it is going to arbitration.
“This is surface bargaining with an ulterior motive,” Durnford argued.
Durnford asked the board to order the NSGEU to bargain in good faith and to reject the union’s request for conciliation talks which have been set for June 29 and 30 until it deals with the complaint.
A hearing is set for July 5.
Executive director Linda Power says in the NSGEU’s reply to the bad-faith complaint that the union was prepared at all times to bargain in a way that would conclude with a new contract.
Powers said the union and CBRM made considerable progress in contract talks in April and would have resolved many other issues in the round of talks that began May 10 but the CBRM walked away from the negotiating table.
The union was prepared to negotiate in those May talks, explain its position on wage parity with Halifax, make counter-proposals, withdraw issues and generally carry on collective bargaining but the CBRM refused to do so, said Power, who is also the union’s chief negotiator.
“At no time did I bargain to avoid a collective agreement,” she said.
The union also quoted a Cape Breton Post story in March in which associate police chief Dave Wilson said he expects the talks to end in arbitration.
Halifax lawyer Eric Durnford claims in the complaint that the goal of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, which represents the 169 unionized officers in the Cape Breton Regional Police Service, has been to establish a favourable position for binding arbitration, and that it has no genuine interest in actually reaching a contract.
The NSGEU is representing a police force for the first time in the contract talks, which are also the first for both sides since the Nova Scotia government proclaimed legislation imposing binding arbitration on police forces across the province, if contract talks fail to reach an agreement.
The union is seeking wage parity with police in the Halifax Regional Municipality and the hiring of more officers. First class constables in the Cape Breton Regional Police Service, with four years service, earn $52,554 compared to $62,000 for their counterparts in Halifax.
Durnford says in the bad-faith complaint, filed last month with the Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board, that talks broke down during a session May 10 when the NSGEU delivered an ultimatum that wage parity with Halifax is the minimum acceptable offer.
He also quoted NSGEU president Joan Jessome’s comments in a story in the Cape Breton Post in March, a week before any negotiations began, that it will bargain from day one as if it is going to arbitration.
“This is surface bargaining with an ulterior motive,” Durnford argued.
Durnford asked the board to order the NSGEU to bargain in good faith and to reject the union’s request for conciliation talks which have been set for June 29 and 30 until it deals with the complaint.
A hearing is set for July 5.
Executive director Linda Power says in the NSGEU’s reply to the bad-faith complaint that the union was prepared at all times to bargain in a way that would conclude with a new contract.
Powers said the union and CBRM made considerable progress in contract talks in April and would have resolved many other issues in the round of talks that began May 10 but the CBRM walked away from the negotiating table.
The union was prepared to negotiate in those May talks, explain its position on wage parity with Halifax, make counter-proposals, withdraw issues and generally carry on collective bargaining but the CBRM refused to do so, said Power, who is also the union’s chief negotiator.
“At no time did I bargain to avoid a collective agreement,” she said.
The union also quoted a Cape Breton Post story in March in which associate police chief Dave Wilson said he expects the talks to end in arbitration.