Canadian Labour Reporter

7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 CANADIAN LABOUR REPORTER ments if you will, to try to entice these workers to cross the picket line and circumvent bargain- ing with the union — it's just not acceptable." "The company is looking for major conces- sions and they want us to take a lot less in a lot of areas in the collective agreement," she added. She pointed to the wage structure and wage progression as one major point of contention. While it would take four years under the most recent collective agreement to reach the top wage tier, under Ikea's proposal, an employee would have to work for 16 years to earn that rate. As well, Dawson said the union could not accept the scaling back of the number of sick days, scheduling and flexibility provisions and changes to management rights. The decision from the labour board will set a precedent for employers that attempt to change the terms and conditions of employ- ment during a strike, Dawson added. "It's about getting back to the bargaining table. You can't go around and circumvent the bargaining unit rights of certain employees by trying to negotiate directly with them instead of the bargaining agent. It may not sound like much, but it's significant because it just goes to show the real anti-union nature," she said. Ikea confirmed it will appeal the decision. "It is unusual to restrict an employer from determining the terms and conditions of em- ployment during a legal strike when there is no collective agreement in place," explained Madeleine Lowenborg-Frick, public relations manager for Ikea Canada. "We feel it is impor- tant to communicate directly with our em- ployees through the strike and to answer any questions that they may have in a straightfor- ward and honest manner." Because the store has been operating during the strike — and because it is against labour laws to hire replacement workers during a strike — the managers and employees who are working with a contracted workforce behind the picket line deserve compensation for the additional duties performed. "They are meeting these customers with a reduced workforce and are learning new skills and working in new areas," Lowenborg-Frick said. "Many are performing functions that are higher paid roles with a higher level of respon- sibility from their usual jobs. As a result, Ikea felt that added compensation was fair." Bargaining between Ikea and the Teamsters union is slated to resume pending a forthcoming decision from the labour board regarding the status of the 35 employees who were expelled from the union after crossing the picket line. Unprecedented case The case has attracted the attention of key players in labour circles, as it deals with unique conditions, said Nicole Skuggedal, a lawyer with labour and employment firm Lawson Lundell in Vancouver. "This case is different because Ikea said they're going to continue to bargain with the employment conditions in the collec- tive agreement — but (the other offer) would be solely applied during the strike or lockout. That's a unique issue," Skuggedal said, adding that the board's decision was well-reasoned. "The board said, 'No, the duty to bargain in good faith requires that you need to put those conditions to the union before you implement them, even if you're just implementing them during the strike or lockout,'" she said. However, Ikea's move could have been dam- aging to the trade union movement as a whole, which likely prompted the labour board to rule the company acted in bad faith. "The board said it constitutes an unfair la- bour practice in making these wage improve- ments to the employees — which could induce employees to refuse to be members of the trade union. Ikea was essentially saying, 'Look, get rid of your trade union. If you don't have the union here, you'll be getting higher wages,'" Skuggedal said. news Photo: Fabian Bimmer (Reuters) After they crossed the picket line to return to work, 35 employees were expelled from the union. Under British Columbia's labour laws, Ikea is not allowed to hire replacement workers during a strike. Unique labour laws in B.C. could set precedent: Lawyer < from pg. 1 The Richmond road to here December 2012: Collective agreement between Teamsters Local 213 and Richmond, B.C.'s Ikea expires. May 2013: About 300 Ikea workers walk off the job after negotiations fail. September 2013: B.C. Labour Board rules the job action constitutes a strike, despite the union's position it was in fact a "lock out" of workers by the company. November 2013: Ikea moves to sue the Teamsters after the union allegedly used its logo (which happens to be copyrighted material) on flyers distributed by picketers. November 2013: Thirty-five employees who crossed the picket line are expelled from the union. They have since appealed the decision from the labour board. December 2013: Union rejects company's latest offer, both parties have yet to return to the bargaining table. July 2014: B.C. Labour Board rules in favour of the union, rapping Ikea for unfair labour practices.

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