For immediate release: Thursday, Aug. 5, 2004

EDMONTON – An Alberta Court of Queens Bench Justice has quashed an Alberta Labour Relations Board decision to impose a two-month dues suspension on the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees. The decision by the ALRB could have cost AUPE approximately $1 million.

In May 2000, AUPE members walked off the job in violation of Alberta labour law in response to the refusal of their employers — all of the 17 health regions that existed at the time, plus the Alberta Mental Health Board and Continuing-Care Employers — to negotiate a fair contract. The ALRB decision was rendered in response to this two-day illegal strike.

Although the strike had concluded on May 26, 2000, the Board granted an application by Employers to suspend the deduction and remittance of union dues for a two-month period under Section 114 of the Alberta Labour Code.

“Imposing a two-month dues suspension following the conclusion of the walkout constituted a punitive, not a remedial action,” said AUPE President, Dan MacLennan. “AUPE has maintained that the Board breached its responsibilities as a remedial body, and acted instead in a punitive nature,” he stated.

The Board had made three interpretive determinations. Firstly, that one of the parties must initiate the process; secondly, that it could direct the Employers to suspend dues deduction after the unlawful strike was over; and thirdly, it interpreted section 114 as having both a punitive and remedial effect.

Following an analysis of how the Board had interpreted the three aspects of its mandate Justice Eric Macklin concluded, “In my view, the interpretation by the Board was unreasonable.”

He found that the Board could direct a dues suspension but not by way of an application from an Employer; that the directive could only be issued when a bargaining unit “is on strike”, not against a bargaining unit that “was” on strike; that “the intended purpose of section 114 is primarily remedial……Its purpose is to deter, to bring to an end, and to remedy an unlawful strike.”

Macklin concluded, “Interpreting the section so as to allow the Board to issue a directive during the course of an ongoing strike supports the overall goals of the legislation. Any directive given after the strike has ended can be seen as punitive only.”

The directive of the Board was accordingly set aside on the basis that the Board’s interpretation of section 114 was unreasonable.

AUPE previously had been penalized for the walkout by the courts and fined $400,000, which was reduced on appeal to $200,000.

For more information, contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-232-8392 (cellular phone)
Pamela Kirkwood, Senior Manager, AUPE 780-930-3303 or 780-232-3303 (cellular phone)
Scott Pattison, Communications Staff, AUPE, 780-930-3406