Workers' defence of pension rights at Carleton reaches Ontario Labour Relations Board

OTTAWA, March 13, 2018 /CNW/ - The union that represents striking workers at Carleton University has filed a complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board, charging that the university has engaged in unfair labour practices.

"We are calling out the university's administration for bargaining in bad faith," said Jacynthe Barbeau, negotiator for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents Carleton's administrative, technical and library staff.

Carleton's workers took to the picket lines last week in a fight to maintain bargaining rights and protections around their pensions. But since the strike began, the university has issued a series of "knowingly false and/or misleading communications," asserts CUPE

"Since the strike began, Carleton has misrepresented and mischaracterized its own position and the union's, including the issues that led to the strike. But this type of behaviour only serves to prolong the dispute and prevent the kind of negotiations that are needed to resolve it," said Barbeau.

She pointed out that, despite claims by Carleton's president, the university had not made any request to CUPE, verbal or written, to return to the bargaining table.

"We are ready to work creatively and collaboratively with Carleton to end the strike. But our determination to keep the rights and protections around our pensions doesn't give the university's administration permission to mislead Carleton's workers or the public," she concluded.

SOURCE Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)