Arbitrator finds employer 'did not violate collective agreement'
TELUS’ bid to have workers relocate from Ontario to Quebec will push through following an arbitrator’s ruling in favour of the employer.
In July, the company told the United Steelworkers union (USW) Local 1944 that some 150 unionized call centre employees based in Ontario must relocate to Montreal by October or have their employment terminated with a severance package, according to the union.
That’s because TELUS is closing its Barrie location, which housed its Ontario contact centre, “following a thoughtful review of our real estate,” Brandi Merker, company spokesperson, told Global News.
On Tuesday, the union received the binding decision of the arbitrator regarding its grievance against the employer’s bid to bring workers back to the office.
The arbitrator “found that TELUS did not violate our collective agreement, or any aspect of Canadian labour law. As such, the original Work From Office and redeployment mandates are considered valid, and TELUS was given the right to reestablish and enforce these directives,” according to the union’s president Michael Phillips, vice president Jennifer Turner and secretary-treasurer Ross Brown.
They added that the arbitrator “has yet to provide the reasoning behind his decision, but we expect his rationale in the coming days.”
In July, TELUS also noted that starting in September, roughly 1,000 call centre workers nationwide who have been working remotely since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic must report to the office three days a week.
In August, the British Columbia Supreme Court granted a temporary injunction against TELUS’ return-to-office mandate.
The recent arbitration ruling will allow TELUS to evolve as a company, Merker said.
“Yesterday’s arbitration ruling allows us to evolve our ways of working and commence a training and re-skilling program that will empower our frontline team members with the tools they need to address complex customer queries and improve our overall service model,” Merker told Global News in a statement.
“We hope our team is excited to evolve and grow with us but we understand that this is a personal decision each and every team member must make for themselves.”
Overall, 83 per cent of Canadian CEOs expect a full return to office within the next three years, according to a previous KPMG report.
