Information Bulletin No. 15

Manitoba Labour Board's Decision Respecting Bargaining Unit Restructuring in the Urban Health Care Sector

March 8, 2002

This bulletin is intended to provide information relating to the Manitoba Labour Board's decision relating to bargaining unit restructuring in this urban health care sector.

In May of 1998, the previous administration requested the Manitoba Labour Board undertake a review of the bargaining units in the acute care facilities in the City of Winnipeg and Brandon. The purpose of the review was to reduce the proliferation of bargaining units in health care by establishing standard units that would be common from facility to facility. Although the Board issued its Review of Bargaining Unit Appropriateness in Manitoba’s Urban Health Care Sector report on December 22, 1998, the review process continued with recommendations being sought from the parties up to the early part of 2002. One of the areas of concern was the issue of, and how to deal with, non-union employees.

As was the case in a number of other provincial jurisdictions, this Board found that standardized units should be adopted for all acute care facilities in Winnipeg. This was in keeping with the Board's determination in the Review of Bargaining Unit Appropriateness in Manitoba’s Rural Health Care Sector report, issued on January 23, 1998, and subsequently adopted by the Brandon Regional Health Authority.

Further consultation with the stakeholders was initiated after the release of the December 22, 1998, Review of Bargaining Unit Appropriateness in Manitoba’s Urban Health Care Sector report. As a result, the Board considered a number of additional factors in determining the status of existing non-union employees, including the original intent of the review, as well as the certification and intermingling provisions of The Labour Relations Act.

It was ultimately decided that, where the unionized segment in a particular unit was not representative of a majority of the employees in that particular unit, a vote would initially be conducted amongst the non-union employees (Concordia Hospital and Seven Oaks General Hospital facilities) to determine if they wished to be represented by a union. If the majority voted yes, a subsequent vote would be held to determine which union.

In situations where one or more bargaining agents represent a significant majority of employees in a particular unit, the vote choice was restricted to which bargaining agent would represent all employees.

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