The Syndicat des employé-e-s de métiers d’Hydro-Québec (CUPE 1500) has won a second victory before the Administrative Labour Tribunal (TAT), in less than one week. The Tribunal welcomed a request for redress from the union and ordered Hydro-Québec to provide release time for workers assigned to work recalls and dispatching, in order to maintain essential services during the strike.
Last week, the Tribunal had already rejected most of Hydro-Québec’s demands aimed at expanding the list of essential services, ruling that the difficulties brought up by the employer were more the result of management and planning problems then a risk to public health and safety.
In this case, Hydro-Québec had insisted that the union assume responsibility for recalling workers in electricity distribution to maintain essential levels of service. However, once this responsibility was recognized, the employer refused to grant the required union leave to allow the union to fulfil its obligations. This led to the union filing a request for redress, as well as a complaint of interference with union activities by the employer, which will be heard at a later date.
“Once again, the Tribunal has reminded Hydro-Québec that the problems they are trying to blame on the union are first and foremost problems with management and planning practices of the employer. You can’t demand that the union take on a responsibility, and then withdraw the means by which they would accomplish it,” said Frédéric Savard, president of CUPE 1500.
The Tribunal was very clear. It stated that Hydro-Québec’s argument based on its operational needs cannot be accepted, and added that “the evidence presented, highlights delays in work planning as well as management difficulties.”
For CUPE, these two consecutive rulings reveal a deeper problem that will need to be tackled by the public corporation.
“Two rulings in one week essentially reach the same conclusion. There are issues with management and planning at Hydro-Québec that need to be corrected by the employer. They need to stop trying to place blame elsewhere and tackle the real organisational problems that were highlighted by the rulings, because these decisions raise more questions than answers about the governance of our public corporation,” added Patrick Gloutney, president of CUPE Québec.
The union represents more than 6,200 specialized workers at the corporation, and their contract expired on December 31, 2023. This is the second sequence of their strike to support bargaining.