Ongoing union wrangling between TWU and Telus affects wireless operations

The nearly two-year-old battle between the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) and Telus Corp. could have an impact on the telco’s wireless operations as the union wants to sweep in all of the company’s wireless employees, unionized and non-unionized alike, under a single collective agreement. The matter is currently before the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), which recently held hearings in Ottawa. According to the TWU, the situation is black and white. Bruce Bell, VP at the TWU, says that since Telus Mobility employees in Alberta and British Columbia fall under the TWU, the same should hold true to those in other parts of the country. "(Telus Mobility has) an operation in Alberta and B.C. and ditto in Scarborough," he tells Report on Wireless. "(It’s the) same work and it should be covered." It’s one company that should have a single collective agreement with one union, he adds. While the issue may seem cut and dry for the union, Telus Mobility doesn’t think so. It advocates its employees’ right to choose whether to join the union or not. A mix of non-unionized and unionized employees found in the company’s central Canadian operations has further complicated the matter. While former Clearnet Communications Inc. employees (acquired in 2000, RoW, Sept. 5/00) are non-unionized, those gained in the March 2000 acquisition of QuébecTel Mobilité (now Telus Quebec) are part of two unions. Telus Mobility call centre, engineering and other employees in Alberta and British Columbia fall under the auspices of the TWU, while former QuébecTel Mobilité employees are shared by two unions: Syndicat des employés d’éxecution de Québec-Téléphone and Syndicat des agents de mâitrise de Québec-Téléphone. It doesn’t appear that the two sides will be able to come to an agreement in the near future. Several key witnesses were supposed to testify during the last set of hearings in Ottawa the week of August 26. However, only one witness actually testified. More hearings are scheduled to be held in Ottawa in October and in Vancouver in November and December. Despite ongoing hearings before the CIRB, the TWU and Telus are still trying to hammer out a collective bargaining agreement for Telus’ wireline employees. The last collective agreement expired in December 2000. During the more than 20 months of negotiations, the two sides have met more than 100 times to try to come to some consensus. For more detailed information on the contractual wrangling between the TWU and Telus, please refer to the August 13/02 issue of Report on Wireless affiliate publication Network Letter.

Ongoing union wrangling between TWU and Telus affects wireless operations

News | 09/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

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