The B.C. Labour Relations Board (LRB) has denied Kelowna Cabs’ application to decertify the union some of its employees belong to.
The seemingly unending fight between the taxi company and its locked-out employees had a new development early on Monday, April 19, when the LRB published its decision stating that it is rejecting the company’s application to decertify MoveUP, an organization that represents union members.
According to the LRB decision, a number of Kelowna Cabs’ employees put forward an application to “cancel the union’s certification”, which was then challenged by MoveUP, alleging that Kelowna Cabs breached the labour code “by intentionally hiring family members and persons sympathetic to the employer’s wishes for the purpose of undermining the union and seeking decertification.”
Certain employees provided the LRB with written statements, siding with Kelowna Cabs. One said they “simply want out of the union”.
“The fact is, there are no applicants sending resumes for part-time hours, therefore like probably most privately-owned companies they staff their family members to help out on call taking shifts,” one statement said.
In the end, the LRB rejected the application to decertify MoveUP given that Kelowna Cabs presented the board with a much smaller list of employees eligible to vote on such matters than the number of people they actually employ.
In a statement, MoveUP vice-president Christy Slusarenko said the company will go to great lengths to get its way.
“It has become abundantly clear that there is no depth to which Kelowna Cabs is willing to sink to in order to get their way,” she said. “Hurting people in Kelowna by breaking the labour code with deceitful actions is shameful.”
Union members who work at Kelowna Cabs have been locked out by the company and have been unable to work since February 26, 2021.
READ MORE: No end in sight to Kelowna Cabs lockout after Labour Board decision
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