Black Top Cabs – National Day of Mourning Grievance

We are writing to inform you that upon our review and preparation for arbitration, your union has withdrawn the policy grievance pertaining to the National Day of Mourning to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 19, 2022. We would likely not succeed due to recent arbitral jurisprudence which supports the distinction that your employer has made between a day declared a holiday by the government for its citizens in its capacity as a governing body, and a day declared a holiday by the government for its own employees in its capacity as an employer.

There is a recent arbitral decision, which your employer would certainly rely on in this case, upholds the view that the federal and provincial governments did not make the holiday sufficiently broad or official to trigger the language in your collective agreement that would include it in the list of holidays your employer is obliged to honor. Should you have any question or concern, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at achen@moveuptogether.ca.

In solidarity,

Anny Chen, Union Representative