FAQ: Labour Relations (continued)

Conciliation

What is conciliation?
How do you request the appointment of a Conciliation Officer?
What if the employer and the union cannot reach agreement in conciliation?
What further assistance is available to the bargaining parties after a "no board" gets issued?

What is Conciliation?

Conciliation is a process by which a trade union or an employer can ask the Ministry of Labour for help in resolving their differences so that they can reach a collective agreement. Either party may apply to the Ministry. If parties are in negotiations, conciliation is mandatory in the sense that the parties must use the government's conciliation services before they can get into a position to engage in a strike or lock-out.

How do you request the appointment of a Conciliation Officer?

The applicant must complete the Request for Appointment of Conciliation Officer form and forward it to:
Dispute Resolution Services
400 University Avenue, 8^th Floor
Toronto ON M7A 1T7
Attention: Intake Officer

Application forms are available upon request. Please call (416) 326-7358.

What if the employer and the union cannot reach agreement in conciliation?

The conciliation officer informs the Minister of Labour that a collective agreement was unable to be effected. The Minister would then generally issue a notice informing the union and the employer that he or she "does not consider it advisable to appoint a conciliation board" (cl. 21(b) of the Act). This notice is known colloquially as the "no board". [Conciliation boards are exceedingly rare. They have not been appointed since the 1960s.]

What further assistance is available to the bargaining parties after a "no board" gets issued?

If the parties have not reached a settlement in the Conciliation stage, the Ministry offers to provide the services of a Mediator who will confer with the parties and endeavour to effect a collective agreement. Mediation is also a process by which a third party attempts to help a trade union and an employer in reaching a collective agreement. Since mediation is discretionary, the service is only used if both parties are amenable to it.