The federal labour board held a conference call last week that involved IAM Local 1848’s arguments that Hudbay has used improper tactics with the union.
IAM said the call took place last Thursday, July 23 and involved the union, its legal counsel, Hudbay and the labour board.
“Our complaint against Hudbay consists of unfair bargaining and the illegal use of replacement workers,” the striking union said on its website.
IAM said the call covered topics such as the scheduling and location of further meetings, witnesses, contractors and clarification of items from the union’s original complaint to the board.
The call also covered the company’s grievance procedure and 40 outstanding grievances related to contracting out, the union said.
The call ended with the board advising the parties they will decide this week whether a hearing is needed, or may issue a ruling based on written submissions, IAM said.
Rob Winton, head of Hudbay’s Manitoba operations, described the purpose of the call as clarifying “a few of the IAM claims in their submission and [to] discuss potential hearing logistics.”
“I cannot comment on the particulars of the discussion or on the IAM recollections of the call,” he added.
“We fully cooperated in the process and look forward to the next step
in the process as we are confident in our legal position.”
