Labour Relations - Revocation

The Board can revoke a union’s certification. 

Certification is an order from the Board that recognizes a union as an exclusive bargaining agent for a defined group of employees (bargaining unit). Please see our page on the certification process for more information.

If employees no longer wish to be represented by a union, they can ask the Canada Industrial Relations Board to remove the union. This is called a “revocation application.”

The Board can declare that a union no longer has the right to represent the employees in the bargaining unit, even if there is no certification order. This happens when the employer voluntarily recognizes the union as the bargaining agent. 

• The Board issues a certification order to certify a union as the bargaining agent for the employees of a bargaining unit.
• Revoking the union’s certification means that the employees in that bargaining unit will no longer be represented by the union.
• In the case of a voluntarily recognized union, the Board will declare that the union can no longer represent the employees in the bargaining unit.
• This will end the collective bargaining relationship between the union and the employer.

• You must provide evidence that more than 50 percent of the employees in the bargaining unit no longer want the union to represent them.
• You can do this by filing individual confidential statements, signed by each employee that you represent, with the Board.
• Each employee must have signed their statement less than six months before the date that the revocation application is filed.
• The individual confidential statements filed in support of a revocation application must clearly indicate the employee’s wish to have the union’s bargaining rights revoked and must include the name of the union that is affected by the revocation application.
• Each statement should also indicate that the employee authorizes the applicant, by name, to act on their behalf in the revocation application.
• The Board will not accept a list of signatures on one sheet of paper as evidence of employees’ wishes.  Each employee must sign an individual document. 
• Applicants are not allowed to collect employees’ confidential statements on company time or at the work site.

• The Canada Labour Code has very specific rules about when you can file a revocation application.
• The rules are different depending on whether a collective agreement is in place. The rules are also different depending on whether the union is certified or voluntarily recognized. A legal strike or lockout also impacts when an application can be filed.
• The following applies when there is no collective agreement:
  • A revocation application can be filed if it has been more than a year since the Board certified the union as the bargaining agent. However, if the union can show that it has made reasonable efforts to enter into a collective bargaining agreement during that time, the Board will not revoke the certification.
  • Therefore, in your application, you must clearly demonstrate that the certified union has not made reasonable efforts to enter into a collective agreement with the employer.
  • If the employer has voluntarily recognized a union that is not certified by the Board, a revocation application can be filed at any time before a collective agreement is signed or during the first year of the term of a collective agreement.
  • After the first year, the rules for revocation of a certification when a collective agreement is in force apply.
• The following applies when a collective agreement is in force:
  • If the length of the collective agreement is three years or less, a revocation application can be filed during the last three months of the collective agreement or at any time after that until a new collective agreement is in place.
  • If the length of the collective agreement is more than three years, a revocation application can be filed during the last three months of the third year or during the last three months of any year after until the collective agreement ends. Once the collective agreement expires, a revocation application can be made at any time up until a new collective agreement is in place.
• A revocation application cannot be filed during a legal strike or lockout, except in very limited circumstances and with the Board’s consent. 

• A Notice of Application acknowledges receipt of the application and includes:
  • a schedule setting out the timelines for how the matter will proceed;
    • This includes the time limits for filing documents.
  • a copy of the application (except for the confidential statements); and
  • a Notice to Employees and the Certificate of Posting.
    • The Notice to Employees must be posted in the workplace for 15 calendar days.  The employer must complete and return the Certificate of Posting to the Board.

• It is not the Board’s practice to grant extensions of the time limits for submitting information or for filing responses and replies, except in exceptional circumstances.
• This helps ensure the timely processing of revocation applications.

• The Board will appoint an Industrial Relations Officer (IRO) to complete an investigation and oversee the file. The IRO is responsible for helping the parties with the process before the Board and ensuring that they submit the information that the Board requires. 
• The IRO will contact the parties to review the following issues:
  • the information required at various stages of the revocation process; 
  • the dates for filing this information; and
  • any issue that could arise during the conduct of the matter.
• The IRO may contact employees to verify the validity of their confidential statements.
• The IRO may meet with the parties to attempt to resolve any disagreements between the parties about the employee list(s).
• Following their investigation, the IRO will provide the parties with a letter setting out the IRO’s understanding of the affected bargaining unit and the issues in dispute between the parties. The IRO will also provide the parties with a list of the documents that have been submitted to the Board.
• Parties are asked to provide their comments on the IRO’s letter within 24 hours of receiving it.
• The IRO may also help the parties come to an agreement and settle all or part of the application.
• The IRO will submit a separate confidential report to the Board setting out the wishes of the employees. All information related to employees’ wishes is kept confidential and is not disclosed to the parties.

• Not necessarily. In many cases, the Board can make a decision based on the documents on file, without holding a hearing. This is part of the reason why written submissions should be as complete as possible. This is true even if the parties request an oral hearing. 
• If the Board decides to hold a hearing, it will advise the parties of the date, time, and location in advance, usually after having consulted the parties during a Case Management Conference. 
• For more information on the Board’s hearing process, please click here.

• Documents provided to the Board will be placed in a file that is available to the public.
• The confidential statements of the employees are not placed in the public file and are not disclosed to the union or the employer.
• The following documents are also not disclosed or provided to the other parties:
  • the alphabetical list prepared by the employer containing employees’ home addresses and telephone numbers;
  • the completed Certificate of Posting; 
  • the completed Certificate of Accuracy; 
  • any document that could reveal the wishes of the employees; and 
  • any other information that the Board decides is confidential.