Can A Claim Of Bad Faith Bargaining Extend Beyond The Bargaining Table?

The Quebec Commission des relations du travail (CRT) recently dismissed a claim of bad faith bargaining against an employer because the parties did not explicitly address the issue in question and its consequences in their discussions.

The parties

In this case, which pitted the Commission de la construction du Québec (employer or CCQ) against its office employees' union,¹ the CRT had to evaluate a claim for bad faith bargaining based on the application of a back-to-work agreement.

The source of the dispute

The dispute arose in the late stages of the bargaining process between the union and the CCQ. On June 3, 2012, a conciliator prepared a settlement proposal which was submitted to the parties. Upon receiving the proposal, the union agreed to delay calling an unlimited general strike until it received the employer's response. On June 5, 2012, the CCQ announced its partial acceptance of the proposed settlement and the union, being dissatisfied with the CCQ's