Dominion, union fight over flights
Charters were supposed to end June 1
Karen K. Ho
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Dominion Diamonds has filed a complaint against the union representing Ekati workers over ending the company's flights to the south.
Discussions to renew the current contract with Union of Northern Workers were held at the end of May. In the latest update for members of Local 3050, the union said that during the third day of scheduled bargaining, Dominion informed them that they had filed a "failure to bargain complaint" with the Canada Industrial Relations
Board, the judicial organization in charge of the Canada Labour Code.
At issue was the UNW's stance on the charters ferrying southern workers between Edmonton and Yellowknife.
In a message posted to the UNW's website May 28, the union said Dominion wanted to know exactly what the UNW's position was on the flights.
Earlier this year, Dominion's vice-president of projects and business development, Elliot Holland, told Yellowknifer in an e-mail statement that as of June 1, company fly-points with transport to the mine site will be soley within the territory. "All employees who reside outside of these areas will be required to travel to an approved Northern fly-point," he wrote.
According to Dominion's senior advisor of external relations, Laura Worsley-Brown, fly-points are located in the communities of Yellowknife, Lutsel k'e, Hay River, Fort Smith, Fort Resolution, Fort Simpson, Inuvik, Norman Wells, Deline as well as Nunavut's Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay. Worsley-Brown confirmed the Edmonton-Yellowknife charters stopped on June 1.
Holland cited the company's obligations to the GNWT under its socio-economic agreement to support the Northern economy and its workforce.
"We have been assessing our policies to make enhancements to retain Northern-resident workers and to entice others to move north by promoting NWT as a great place to work, live and raise families," he stated.
'Common interest': GNWT
During those bargaining talks in May, the union responded that it "reserved its right to file a complaint (to the industrial relations board) if and when there are any alterations that negatively impact our bargaining unit members," including any changes to hiring points and/or fly-points.
According to the update posted on the UNW website, Dominion "stated that unless the union was willing to change their position (on the flights), it effectively prevented further progress at the bargaining table until the matter is resolved."
When Yellowknifer first reported on Dominion's intentions to cancel the flights last fall, finance minister Michael Miltenberger said the company's change aligned with the territorial government's stated objective to increase its resident workforce.
However, Miltenberger denied the GNWT had anything to do with the decision, calling it a case of common interest. He declined to comment for this story.
Dominion's Laura Worsley-Brown, said that because of the status of the company's application before the board, they too were unable to comment.
When a failure to bargain complaint is filed, the industrial relations board may appoint a board member or staff to help settle the issue. If unresolved, the matter can escalate to a hearing, where the Canada Industrial Relations Board can uphold the complaint through a remedial order, or dismiss it altogether.
According to a report from Statistics Canada released on July 10, between June 2014 and June of this year, the territory's population fell by 400 people and its labour force fell by 600 people.
Although Dominion and UNW have not disclosed the number of employees who would be affected by the current negotiations, a 2013 joint briefing paper reveals that Ekati employs a little more than 1,200 workers on site, with almost half (46 per cent) of that workforce living outside of the NWT.
UNW president Todd Parsons could not be reached for comment. ITI Minister David Ramsay also declined to comment for this story.
As of press time July 13, shares of Dominion (TSX: DDC) closed at $16.08, down 23 cents or 1.14 per cent. The stock has fallen significantly in the last 30 days, dropping over 20 per cent.
