Worldwide Code Of Conduct Reasonable Exercise Of Management Rights

Many multinational corporations have issued company-wide codes of conduct setting out baseline rules that apply to all of their global operations. A recent Ontario arbitration decision provides a good precedent for employers who may be concerned about balancing corporate governance interests against the rights of unionized employees when instituting universal codes of conduct.

In Candu Energy Inc. v. The Society of Professional Engineers and Associates, Arbitrator Keller approved the right of a multinational employer to institute a code of ethics applicable to all its employees, including its unionized workforce, concluding that it was a reasonable exercise of management rights.