Case information

Labour relations — Bargaining units — Unions — Certification — Union seeking to exclude six workers from bargaining unit — Is an appeal of a judicial review decision limited to the issues set out in the Notice of Appeal and Notice of Contention/Cross-Appeal? — Does horizontal stare decisis and/or principles of comity apply to labour tribunals when determining the type of work included in a bargaining unit? — When determining whether workers should be included in a bargaining unit, can a labour tribunal take into account whether they eat, take breaks and meet with other workers, particularly when those sought to be included are new to Canada and English is their second language?

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Grafton Developments Inc. (“Grafton”), is a small family-run company in the business of constructing apartment buildings in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Labourers’ International Union Local 615 (“Union”) represents labourers in the construction industry. In April, 2021, it applied to the Labour Board for certification as bargaining agent for all labourers employed by Grafton pursuant to s. 95 of the Trade Union Act, R.S.N.S., c. 475. As required, Grafton provided a list of 18 employees that should be included in the bargaining unit list who were at work on April 23, 2021, the date of the certification application. It included six finishing cleaners in Grafton’s apartment units. Their inclusion resulted in the dismissal of the Union’s certification application. The Union asked the Board to revoke that order and requested that the Union be certified on the basis that the disputed cleaners were not on site on the date of the application and were not doing work in the trade jurisdiction of the Union. The Board held that the six cleaners should not have been included as members of the bargaining unit. Its previous decision was revoked and certification was granted. This decision was quashed on judicial review. On appeal, the Board’s certification decision was reinstated.