Manitoba Labour Board

Role

The Labour Relations Act establishes the mandate of the Manitoba Labour Board as:

an independent and autonomous specialist tribunal responsible for the fair and efficient administration and adjudication of responsibilities assigned to it under this and any other Act.

The Board consists of a full-time chairperson, 1 full-time vice-chairperson, 3 part-time vice-chairpersons and 28 part-time Board Members (comprised of an equal representation of 14 Members from labour groups and 14 members from Employer organizations). In addition to the chairperson, there are 14 full-time and 1 part-time staff at the Board's office.

The Board's responsibility for administration and/or adjudication can be categorized into two areas:

1. As the Manitoba Labour Board, it deals with applications filed pursuant to: The Labour Relations Act, The Pay Equity Act, The Workplace Safety and Health Act, and The Essential Services Act, The Public Schools Act, The Elections Act and the Victims' Rights Act
2. As the "wages board", appointed pursuant to the Employment Standards Code, it deals with complaints referred to the Board by the Employment Standards Division.

Objectives

The objectives of the Manitoba Labour Board are:

to resolve labour matters in a fair and reasonable manner and in a way which will be accepted by the labour/management community as providing them with guidance in their future dealings

to respect the majority wishes of employees by issuing the appropriate order, being certification or decertification

to assist parties in resolving disputes without the need of the formal adjudicative process

to process applications as expeditiously as possible

to provide parties and/or the general public with information pertaining to their dealings with the Board or about the Board's operations.

The Board is responsible for the development of sound and harmonious labour/management relations by:

1. granting certification to bargaining agents who represent the majority interests of employees within specific bargaining units, and
2. expeditiously handling other applications referred to the Board under The Labour Relations Act (eg. expedited arbitrations, Board rulings, alleged unfair labour practices, etc.).

The Board has the additional responsibility of adjudicating on matters referred to the Board under The Workplace Safety and Health Act and The Pay Equity Act, The Essential Services Act, The Public Schools Act, The Elections Act and The Victims' Rights Act..

The Board also has the adjudicative responsibility of dealing with referrals from the Employment Standards Division of the Department of Labour and Immigration. The Board adjudicates on disputes between employees and employers filed with the Employment Standards Division, pursuant to the various Acts they administer, and subsequently referred to the Board where they have been unsuccessful in resolving the dispute.

Although the Board conducts numerous formal hearings annually, a significant portion of the Board's workload is administrative in nature. Where possible, the Board encourages the settlement of disputes in an informal manner by appointing one of its Labour Relations Officers to assist the parties in resolving outstanding issues and complaints.