Arbitrator dismisses Union complaint against Bell Technical Solutions

An Ontario-based labour arbitrator has dismissed a complaint by Unifor workers against a BCE Inc. subsidiary having found that the company did everything in its power to remedy a situation in which Bell Technical Solutions workers were found infringing on work meant for its Craft and Services employees. On June 27, 2021 the union – representing “all Craft and Services employees of the company – grieved that the Bell had Bell Technical Solutions (BTS) performed cable repair work that belongs to the former's bargaining unit work under its collective agreement. BTS is a wholly owned subsidiary of BCE Inc. The company installs and maintains the copper and fibre optic network cables while BTS installs and maintains customer service lines in Ontario and Quebec, according to the written decision dated Dec. 29. “The company’s and BTS’ operations commonly interface at usually brown or gray distribution terminals commonly referred to as “pedestals” where network cables meet customer service lines,” according to the arbitration documents. The Union had apparently discovered that some cable repair work behind the faceplate that belongs to company Craft and Services technicians has been performed by BTS technicians. A memorandum in the collective agreement stipulates that cable repair work is Craft and Services bargaining unit work and specifies that "with one exception" BTS employees “will not” do that work, according to the documents. “This is the real focus of the grievance and the dispute between the parties,” arbitrator George Surdykowski wrote in his decision. The company argued that its BTS technicians who had been doing cable repair work behind the faceplate contrary to the memorandum had “been doing so without its authorization or permission, and that it has therefore not violated the collective agreement.” The company also argued to the arbitrator that it acted to remedy the situation by taking steps that were “reasonable, responsible, and have significantly reduced the problem.” The union, on the other hand, argued that a reply from the company stating it was aware of the issue amounted to an admission that it violated the collective agreement’s memorandum. Surdykowski wrote in his decision that he found that “on a fair reading it does not." The fact that the Company stated in its reply that BTS had communicated to its employees that they were not authorized to perform cable repair work and that ‘any incident … will be taken seriously by both Bell Canada and BTS, with the necessary effort and due diligence …’ signals that the company is aware of the issue and has taken and will continue to take necessary steps to deal with it,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, the problem of BTS technicians doing cable repair work prohibited by the (memorandum) seems to be one of those intractable problems to which grievance arbitration can offer little in the way of a solution when the employer has acted reasonably and in good faith.... If I had a magic arbitrator wand I could wave to solve the problem I would use it. But I do not,” Surdykowski wrote in his decision.

Arbitrator dismisses Union complaint against Bell Technical Solutions

Brief | January 6, 2022

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Arbitrator dismisses Union complaint against Bell Technical Solutions

Brief | January 6, 2022

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