DIVISION V — Conciliation and First Agreements

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the employees of which are employees of the Department of Employment and Social Development, advises the Minister of Labour with respect to industrial relations matters and is responsible for fostering harmonious relations between trade unions and employers by assisting them in the negotiation of collective agreements and their renewal and the management of the relations resulting from the implementation of the agreements.

Head

The head of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service reports to the Minister in respect of responsibilities relating to the resolution of disputes.

Where a notice to commence collective bargaining has been given under this Part, either party may inform the Minister, by sending a notice of dispute, of their failure to enter into, renew or revise a collective agreement where

Copy to other party

The party who sends a notice of dispute under subsection (1) must immediately send a copy of it to the other party.

The Minister shall, not later than fifteen days after receiving a notice in writing under section 71,

Idem

Where the Minister has not received a notice under section 71 but considers it advisable to take any action set out in paragraph (1)(a), (b) or (c) for the purpose of assisting the parties in entering into or revising a collective agreement, the Minister may take such action.

Limitation

The Minister may only take one action referred to in this section with respect to any particular dispute involving a bargaining unit.

Where a conciliation officer has been appointed under subsection 72(1), the Minister shall forthwith deliver to the officer a copy of the notice given under section 71 in respect of the dispute.

Duties of conciliation officer

Where a conciliation officer has been appointed under section 72, the conciliation officer shall

Where a conciliation commissioner has been appointed or a conciliation board has been established, the Minister must immediately deliver to the conciliation commissioner or the members of the conciliation board a copy of the notice of dispute sent under section 71 and may, until their report has been submitted, refer other questions to them.

Duties of conciliation commissioner or conciliation board

Where a conciliation commissioner has been appointed or a conciliation board has been established under subsection 72(1), the conciliation commissioner or conciliation board shall

Report of the Board

The report of the majority of the members of a conciliation board is the report of the conciliation board, except where each member of the conciliation board makes a report, in which case the report made by the person appointed by the Minister as a member and chairperson of the conciliation board is the report of the conciliation board.

Except with the consent of the parties, the Minister may not extend the time for a conciliation officer to report, or for a conciliation commissioner or conciliation board to submit a report, beyond sixty days after the date of appointment or establishment.

Deemed reporting

The conciliation officer is deemed to have reported sixty days after the date on which that officer was appointed or at the end of the extended time limit to which the parties consent, unless she or he actually reports earlier.

Deemed receipt of report

The Minister is deemed to have received the report of the conciliation commissioner or conciliation board sixty days after the date on which the conciliation commissioner was appointed or the board was established or at the end of the extended time limit to which the parties consent, unless the Minister actually receives the report earlier.

Despite any other provision of this Part, an employer and a bargaining agent may agree in writing, as part of a collective agreement or otherwise, to refer any matter respecting the renewal or revision of a collective agreement or the entering into of a new collective agreement to a person or body for final and binding determination.

Effect of agreement

The agreement suspends the right to strike or lockout and constitutes an undertaking to implement the determination.

Where an employer or a bargaining agent is required, by notice given under section 48, to commence collective bargaining for the purpose of entering into the first collective agreement between the parties with respect to the bargaining unit for which the bargaining agent has been certified and the requirements of paragraphs 89(1)(a) to (d) have otherwise been met, the Minister may, if the Minister considers it necessary or advisable, at any time thereafter direct the Board to inquire into the dispute and, if the Board considers it advisable, to settle the terms and conditions of the first collective agreement between the parties.

Board may settle terms and conditions

The Board shall proceed as directed by the Minister under subsection (1) and, if the Board settles the terms and conditions of a first collective agreement referred to in that subsection, those terms and conditions shall constitute the collective agreement between the parties and shall be binding on them and on the employees in the bargaining unit, except to the extent that such terms and conditions are subsequently amended by the parties by agreement in writing.

Matters the Board may consider

In settling the terms and conditions of a first collective agreement under this section, the Board shall give the parties an opportunity to present evidence and make representations and the Board may take into account

Duration of agreement

Where the terms and conditions of a first collective agreement are settled by the Board under this section, the agreement is effective for a period of two years after the date on which the Board settles the terms and conditions of the collective agreement.

A conciliation board shall consist of three members appointed in the manner specified in section 82.

Eligibility of members

A person is not eligible to be a member of a conciliation board if the person has a pecuniary interest that may be directly affected by any matter referred to the board.

Where the Minister has, pursuant to section 72, decided to establish a conciliation board, the Minister shall immediately, by notice in writing, require each of the parties to the dispute to nominate, within seven days after receipt by the party of the notice, one person to be a member of the conciliation board and, on receipt of the nomination within those seven days, the Minister shall appoint the nominee to be a member of the conciliation board.

Failure to nominate

Where either party to whom a notice is given pursuant to subsection (1) fails or neglects to nominate a person to be a member of the conciliation board to be established by the Minister within seven days after the receipt by that party of the notice, the Minister shall appoint, as a member of the conciliation board, a person the Minister considers to be qualified to be such a member, and the member so appointed shall be deemed to have been appointed on the nomination of that party.

Nomination of chairperson

The members of a conciliation board appointed under subsection (1) or (2) shall, within five days after the appointment of the second member, nominate a third person, who is willing and ready to act, to be a member and chairperson of the conciliation board, and the Minister shall appoint that person to be a member and chairperson of the conciliation board.

Failure to nominate chairperson

Where the members of a conciliation board appointed under subsection (1) or (2) fail or neglect to nominate a chairperson within five days after the appointment of the second such member, the Minister shall forthwith appoint, as the third member and chairperson of the conciliation board, a person whom the Minister considers qualified to be a member and chairperson of the conciliation board.

The chairperson of a conciliation board shall

Quorum

The chairperson and one other member of a conciliation board constitute a quorum but, in the absence of any member, the other members shall not proceed unless the absent member has been given reasonable notice of the sitting.

Substitute member

Where a person ceases to be a member of a conciliation board before the board has completed its work, another member shall be nominated and appointed in their place in accordance with section 82.