A Labour & Employment Law Update

28-August-2008

The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) recently ruled that an employer has an obligation to provide its Union with home phone numbers and email addresses for all bargaining unit employees. Although the ruling is only binding on federal employers, it would tend to be followed in Alberta by the Alberta Labour Relations Board which has given similar rulings in the past.

The CIRB found an obligation to provide “basic personal contact information” including home phone numbers, and names and home addresses. There was no obligation to provide home email addresses as the company did not have that information and was not obligated to collect it for the purpose of disclosure. Presumably, the employer would have been obliged to disclose it if it had had the information. The CIRB found that the obligation to disclose arises from the equality of the employer and union in the bargaining relationship. There is a necessity for equal access to such information because the Union may need to contact employees regarding employment-related matters outside their hours of work.

The CIRB also ruled that the right to such information cannot be waived in the parties’ collective agreement.

The CIRB observed that the Union’s use of this information is restricted to matters related to employment and fulfillment of the Union’s statutory obligations pertaining to that employment.

The CIRB drew one very important exception to the disclosure obligation. The Union was not entitled to access the personal contact information of those employees who provided it to the employer on the basis of an express guarantee of confidentiality. This is an important exception which should guide employers in how they collect this information from employees. Confidentiality can be very important to some employees so consents to usage or restrictions on usage should be clear between employer and employee.

This update is a general overview of the subject matter and cannot be regarded as legal advice. Please contact Vicki Giles in Edmonton, Tom Ross in Calgary, Glenn Tait in Yellowknife, or any member of our Labour & Employment Practice Group for advice on this or any other labour & employment law topic.