The Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board ruled on Monday that a union complaint against the Heritage Inn in Moose Jaw can move forward.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 1400 is accusing the hotel of bargaining in bad faith between 2019 and May of 2024.
However, the hotel asked for the case to be dismissed because the board already dismissed in April similar allegation from 2019 to July of 2023. That earlier decision is currently under reconsideration.
The board ruled that the case could not be summarily dismissed, saying the first case is not yet final and the new complaint includes a longer timeline and potentially new issues could be brought forward.
In the ruling, the board noted that complaints about “continuing conduct” — such as ongoing bad faith bargaining — can still move forward even if some of the facts overlap with past cases.
The ruling means that the union’s complaint can go to a hearing. However, the ruling noted that the hotel can still argue that parts of the case are repetitive or an abuse of process. The ruling doesn’t decide whether the allegations are true, but whether the complaint deserves a full review.
UFCW Local 1400 has 42 members in Moose Jaw including housekeepers, front desk staff, banquet servers, cooks and more. They have been without a collective agreement since June of 2019 and have been locked out by Heritage Inn since September of 2023.
A labour board ruling in February of 2023 found that the Heritage Inn had been committing unfair labour practices during negotiations.
Many of the issues are around wages and the removal of benefits.