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Last week, Unifor filed a Notice of Dispute with the Federal Minister of Labour requesting the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) in our collective bargaining with VIA Rail on the renewal of Collective Agreements 1 and 2, which covers 1,700 members of Unifor Council 4000.
On Monday, December 7, the Minister appointed a conciliation officer to the Council 4000 / VIA Rail bargaining table. The chart below outlines the schedule that will be followed through the conciliation process up to the setting of a bargaining deadline:
| Collective Bargaining Process: | Council 4000 Dates: |
| Notice of Bargaining | September 3, 2019 |
| Notice of Dispute | November 27, 2020 |
| Ministerial Decision | December 7, 2020 |
| Conciliation | 60 days, unless extended by mutual agreement of parties |
| Termination of Conciliation | February 5, 2021 |
| Cooling-off Period | 21 days |
| Acquisition of right to strike/lockout * | February 26, 2021 |
| Mediation | No time limit |
*The right to strike/lockout cannot be exercised until, 1) a strike vote is taken and 2) 72-hours notice is given
Why choose to file for conciliation?
The conciliation process is intended to assist the parties in resolving their differences. The conciliation officer has a 60-day mandate, which may be mutually extended between the parties. At the end of the conciliation period described above, a 21-day cooling off period begins. During this period, the Minister of Labour may appoint a mediator to continue to assist the parties in reaching an agreement.
Unifor and VIA have scheduled further dates to continue bargaining from December 15 to 18, with the assistance of Federal Conciliation Officer Hélène Madore. Bargaining will be for both Council 4000 in negotiations for Agreements 1 and 2, and Local 100 for Agreement 3.
The conciliation process starts the clock for both parties. For the Union, conciliation is one of the tools we rely on to increase our power at the bargaining table, to set firm dates with the employer and remain strong in our bargaining demands. During this process, we require the united support of our membership in order to achieve our goals for this round of bargaining.
We will provide an update next week as we go back to the bargaining table.
In solidarity,
The Council 4000 Bargaining Committee
