CUPE files labour complaint, claims city garbage contractor fired employees trying to unionize

The City of Winnipeg’s largest union has filed a labour complaint against a local garbage contractor, alleging the company interfered with workers’ attempts to unionize and punished some employees who took part.

“The union filed an unfair labour practice against GFL (Environmental). We believe that (there was a) violation of the employees’ constitutional rights to form a union. As a result, we feel the employer wrongfully terminated those individuals,” said Gord Delbridge, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500.

Delbridge said staff of the waste collection company, which provides some of the city’s garbage collection service, approached the union about a year ago and conversations followed over the past year.

“We’ve been working with all of the staff… there to try to form a union (and) there were a few individuals that were fired just over the past year,” he alleged.

The union leader did not provide an exact number of the employees affected but said he believes “a few” positions were terminated.

“They complained to the union that they felt they were being pressured by the employer for their union involvement. The employer, we feel, acted wrongly by trying to interfere with an organizing drive,” said Delbridge.

He said the parties will discuss hearing dates with the labour board within the next month.

While exact dates haven’t been set, the Manitoba Labour Board has directed the matter to proceed to a hearing.

“It’s an application seeking remedy for (alleged) unfair labour practices, contrary to (several) sections… of the Labour Relations Act,” said Raymond MacIsaac, registrar of the board.

“It is an issue arising out of a certification drive and it does involve allegations of unfair labour practices by the employer.”

Officials from GFL Environmental could not be reached for comment Friday.

The union’s allegations have not been proven.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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