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No decision has come yet from the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board, after they heard an application for decertification of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) from the Weyburn Wal-Mart on Friday.
Representatives from Wal-Mart and the UFCW were in Regina to plead their cases, with the panel of the Labour Board now behind closed doors to make their decision. It could be a minimum of 10 days before the Labour Board's decision becomes public knowledge.
The certification of the United Food and Commercial Workers was issued by the Saskatchewan Labour Board in December 2008. Shortly after this decision, Wal-Mart appealed to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeals using changes to the Trade Union Act that would require a vote by their associates.
In October of this year, the Court of Appeals released their ruling that the certification would go ahead, as the Trade Union Act changes had been made after the certification and were not applicable.
In reaction to the decision by the Court of Appeals, the associates at the Weyburn Wal-Mart moved to decertify. The union attempted to contact associates, asking them to allow for a contract to be negotiated before deciding whether to decertify or not. The Labour Board must rule on the application to have the union decertified for the employees of the Weyburn store.
A decision in favour of the decertification would mean that Weyburn Wal-Mart employees would have their right to vote on union representation.
A decision in favor of the union would result in contract talks being negotiated, since talks have suspended between the two sides since the original certification in 2008.
