The Alberta Labour Relations Board has upheld a complaint filed by the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) against the NAIT Academic Staff Association (NASA), concluding that NASA failed to make every reasonable effort to enter into a collective agreement by insisting on bargaining exclusively outside normal business hours.
The Board addressed two consolidated complaints: one from NAIT alleging a breach of section 60 of the Labour Relations Code, and another from NASA alleging breaches of sections 60 and 148 by NAIT. The Board dismissed NASA’s complaint and upheld NAIT’s, issuing directives to facilitate progress in collective bargaining negotiations.
“The principal dispute which is impeding bargaining is whether bargaining should occur during normal business hours or whether it should occur outside normal business hours during evenings and weekends,” the Board stated. While emphasizing that bargaining is “best left in the hands of the parties,” the Board decided to intervene to move negotiations forward due to the impasse.
Background of the dispute
The conflict arose during efforts to renew the 2019-2024 collective agreement, which expired on June 30, 2024. NASA served a Notice to Bargain on March 12, 2024, but disagreements over the scheduling of bargaining sessions soon emerged.
At a pre-bargaining meeting on January 19, 2024, NASA informed NAIT of its intention to conduct all bargaining sessions during evenings and weekends. NASA argued that this approach would make Article 12 of the collective agreement—requiring NASA to reimburse NAIT for staff time off during regular hours—irrelevant, as bargaining committee members would not need time off from their regular duties.
NASA believed that bargaining outside normal business hours would offer several advantages, including easier scheduling for its enlarged bargaining committee, reduced need for NAIT managers to arrange staff coverage, and less disruption to students. NASA had expanded its committee to between 20 and 30 members to increase transparency and representation, following internal dissatisfaction with the previous round of negotiations.
NAIT’s position
NAIT opposed the proposal, asserting that bargaining outside normal business hours was not conducive to effective negotiations. NAIT cited concerns that such scheduling could prolong bargaining, was inconsistent with past practices, and would negatively impact work-life balance for all participants.
NAIT suspected that NASA’s motivation was to avoid the financial implications of Article 12. In an August 2 bargaining update to its members, NASA acknowledged that bargaining exclusively during business hours could cost up to $200,000.
Board’s analysis and decision
The Board found that NASA’s insistence on bargaining solely outside normal business hours impeded the negotiation process. “NASA should have known from its discussions with NAIT that such a condition would not be acceptable,” the Board noted. By maintaining this position, NASA delayed the start of substantive bargaining, which did not commence until August 1, 2024—nearly five months after the Notice to Bargain was served.
The Board concluded that NASA failed to meet its obligations under section 60(1)(b) of the Labour Relations Code, which requires parties to “make every reasonable effort to enter into a collective agreement.” While acknowledging that NASA acted in good faith, the Board emphasized that procedural demands should not be taken to the point of impasse.
“NASA had the right to propose bargaining outside normal business hours to NAIT, but it did not have the right to push this proposal to the point of impeding bargaining,” the decision read.
Directives issued
To facilitate progress, the Board issued several directives under section 12(2)(f) of the Code:
- NASA must propose dates and times for bargaining within three days of the decision, totalling at least 30 hours of bargaining by December 15, 2024. At least 15 hours must be during normal business hours.
- NAIT must respond within three business days, following the same ratio of equal hours during and outside normal working hours.
- Bargaining sessions are to be scheduled accordingly, with the process repeated if necessary until 30 hours are set.
- The parties may mutually agree to additional dates or alter the ratio between business and non-business hours. Failing agreement, bargaining shall be equally divided between the two.
- Either party may apply to the Board for further directives if difficulties arise.
Dismissal of NASA’s complaint
NASA’s complaint alleged that NAIT violated sections 60 and 148(1)(a)(i) of the Labour Relations Code by altering its position on the availability of on-campus bargaining spaces and by sending an email to four NASA members regarding their pay status while observing bargaining sessions.
The Board dismissed these allegations, stating that NAIT’s contingency plans for meeting spaces did not constitute “receding horizon bargaining” and that the email in question was neither intimidating nor an interference with the union’s administration.
“The content and tone are not intimidating and are not an interference with the rights of NASA,” the Board found regarding the email sent by J.E., NAIT’s Director of Employee and Labour Relations, to the four observers.
For more information, see Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (Board of Governors) v The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Academic Staff Association, 2024 ALRB 122 (CanLII).
