In a decision released Wednesday, the court said arbitrator Guy Dufort’s previous work for Canada Post and history as a Conservative candidate in Quebec casts doubt on his impartiality.
Showing posts with label Arbitrator. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arbitrator. Show all posts
Thursday, August 09, 2012
Ex-Tory candidate removed as Harper-appointed arbitrator in Canada Post-union dispute
In a decision released Wednesday, the court said arbitrator Guy Dufort’s previous work for Canada Post and history as a Conservative candidate in Quebec casts doubt on his impartiality.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Arbitrator chooses Air Canada contract for machinists
Arbitrator Michel Picher ruled to impose the airline's final, five-year contract offer on Sunday.
According to the airline, the deal between Air Canada and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) includes changes to the pension plan for any new hires. The pension plan for current employees will not change.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
CFPB to Take on Shadow Corporate Justice System
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Tuesday morning a “public inquiry” into how the financial services industry uses arbitration clauses to protect itself from consumer lawsuits. These clauses are often hidden from consumers, deep in contractual fine print, and strip away basic rights to judicial review.
Banks, credit cards, cell phone companies or even employers routinely offer contracts that, in the event of a dispute, mandate an arbitration procedure in which there is not a judge or jury—but rather, a private arbitrator often chosen by the corporation being sued.
Naturally, this creates a pseudo-judicial system heavily weighted towards corporations—in California, for example, a study found that corporations won 94 percent of the arbitration proceedings. In one of the more infamous cases of an arbitrator simply rubber-stamping a corporation’s case, a Minnesota arbitrator ruled in 2006 that woman owed a credit card collection agency $7,800 for a defaulted account—except the card was taken out by an entirely different woman who happened to have the same name.
Banks, credit cards, cell phone companies or even employers routinely offer contracts that, in the event of a dispute, mandate an arbitration procedure in which there is not a judge or jury—but rather, a private arbitrator often chosen by the corporation being sued.
Naturally, this creates a pseudo-judicial system heavily weighted towards corporations—in California, for example, a study found that corporations won 94 percent of the arbitration proceedings. In one of the more infamous cases of an arbitrator simply rubber-stamping a corporation’s case, a Minnesota arbitrator ruled in 2006 that woman owed a credit card collection agency $7,800 for a defaulted account—except the card was taken out by an entirely different woman who happened to have the same name.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Canada Post union asks new arbitrator to step aside over Tory ties
The union representing postal workers is asking the arbitrator named to settle a contract with Canada Post to step aside because he has ties to the Conservative party and previously represented the company.
In a bulletin to members Thursday, Denis Lemelin, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, writes that the union learned this week that Labour Minister Lisa Raitt had appointed Guy Dufort as arbitrator, effective March 19, replacing Coulter Osborne who quit in November.
Osborne stepped down after the union went to court over Raitt’s choice, saying he was not bilingual.
As part of the back-to-work legislation brought in last June, the arbitrator is to preside over final offer arbitration, where both sides present their final positions and the arbitrator selects one without blending aspects from the two sides.
Last November, the Labour Department asked the union to submit names of additional arbitrators, and the union included Dufort, who was on a list of Quebec arbitrators. That list is approved by employers and central labour bodies, said Lemelin, adding no further research was done.
In a bulletin to members Thursday, Denis Lemelin, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, writes that the union learned this week that Labour Minister Lisa Raitt had appointed Guy Dufort as arbitrator, effective March 19, replacing Coulter Osborne who quit in November.
Osborne stepped down after the union went to court over Raitt’s choice, saying he was not bilingual.
As part of the back-to-work legislation brought in last June, the arbitrator is to preside over final offer arbitration, where both sides present their final positions and the arbitrator selects one without blending aspects from the two sides.
Last November, the Labour Department asked the union to submit names of additional arbitrators, and the union included Dufort, who was on a list of Quebec arbitrators. That list is approved by employers and central labour bodies, said Lemelin, adding no further research was done.
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