The Saskatchewan Labour Board recently ruled that the Heritage Inn was bargaining in bad faith with UFCW Canada Local 1400. 

According to the union, it represents 85 workers, including 42 in Moose Jaw, who are housekeepers, front desk staff, banquet servers' cooks and more at the Heritage Inn. Workers in the Moose Jaw and Saskatoon locations have been locked out since September and have been without a collective agreement since June of 2019. 

In the Feb. 28 ruling, the labour board ordered that the Heritage Inn and/or its agents must cease and refrain from committing unfair labour practices and the employer must return to the bargaining table and make “every reasonable effort” to conclude a new collective agreement. The union was seeking binding arbitration. 

The ruling said that the employer made a decision that it could not reach a collective agreement, but before they came to that decision, they made “no attempt to take any of the numerous alarming proposals off the table.” The board said the employer instead decided to end conciliation bargaining early. 

In the ruling, it says conciliation bargaining sessions were set for April 11 and May 25, 2023. The union learned on the second day that the employer pulled out and was declaring an impasse. Bargaining did continue for Moose Jaw on June 1 before the impasse was filed the next day. 

According to the ruling, some of the proposals included changes to the scope and removal of protection for bargaining unit work, the elimination of any guarantee of full-time employment, a change of seniority in relation to department and not the workplace and the removal of paid bereavement leave. 

The board said in its ruling that the employer should have reasonably known “the likely impact of the proposal packet it was putting forward.” With evidence that the employer was not seeking to compromise on “any of the most concerning of its proposals,” the board ruled that it was not genuinely seeking an agreement. 

The board did not have some harsh words for the union, saying the union was “not always on its best behaviour” during bargaining and raised questions about whether it contributed to the deterioration of bargaining. 

You can read the full ruling here.