Duty of Fair Representation

When you have brought an issue to the attention of the union you may not get the result you had hoped for, but the union will have fulfilled their duty if they acted fairly and honestly. When the matter involves two union members, it may mean both parties receive representation from the union.

A duty of fair representation means that unions cannot act in an arbitrary or discriminatory way or in bad faith in considering whether to file a grievance or when representing a worker.

Arbitrary treatment can occur when a union decides whether to make a grievance without looking into the situation. The union must do a proper investigation before deciding whether to go ahead with a grievance. At the very least, the union must interview the person making the complaint and any other workers who are involved.

The union cannot act in bad faith. For example, if the union was not honest they could be found to have acted in bad faith. Other examples are if the union intends to harm the person making the complaint or is spiteful or hostile.

The union cannot discriminate against you based on something like your race, sex or whether they like you. They cannot act in a way that results in discrimination, even if they did not mean to discriminate.

Unions have to fairly represent workers who bring a complaint to them concerning the collective agreement. If they do not the worker can take the case to the Labour Relations Board. If the Labour Relations Board finds that a union has failed to fairly represent a worker dealing with a possible breach of a collective agreement they can:

• Order the union to use the grievance procedure set out in the collective agreement to deal with the worker's issue.
• Make an order declaring the union failed to represent the worker fairly and specifying the ways in which the union failed in its duty.
• Order the union to pay money to the worker to compensate for economic damage they suffered because the union failed in its duty.
• Order the union to pay some of the costs the worker incurred in taking the case to the Labour Relations Board.