When news came that B.C. Labour Minister Harry Bains had granted the UNBC faculty's request for a special mediator in its ongoing strike with the university, you may have wondered what exactly a mediator can do.
Bains has tapped Trevor Sones as the man who will to try and find common ground between the two sides, as the UNBCFA's strike action is closing in on three weeks.
Update re mediation between @UNBC and @UNBCFA: Minister of Labour, Harry Bains, appointed mediator Trevor Sones to work with the parties to move bargaining past the current impasse. @CUPE3799 @CUPE2278 @UniteHere40 @NUGSS_UNBC @NBCGSS
— UNBC-FA (@UNBCFA) November 27, 2019
According to Sones' profile on the UBC Sauder School of Business website, he holds a B.A. Honourary from Carleton University Criminology and Criminal Justice, Concentration in Law from 2002 and an M.A. Dispute Resolution from the University of Victoria.
He's an Adjunct Professor in the Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Division.
His attached CV says he has more than 650 days of mediation/negotiation involving hundreds of different disputes, while teaching numerous courses on mediation and negotiation.
According to section 145 of the BC Labour Relations Code, Sones can do the following and other means necessary:
- Compel individuals to answer questions under oath or affirmation (145.1)
- Produce records or things in a person's possession or control (145.1)
- Make orders and directions as necessary for the maintenance of order at a hearing (145.2)
- By order, may impose restrictions on a person's continued participation or may exclude a person from participation (145.2)
"We appreciate the timely appointment of a special mediator by the Minister," said Stephen Rader, UNBCFA President in a statement.
"We are reaching a critical point when the semester is on the verge of being cancelled. Clearly, the Minister has heard from us, our students, and our co-workers on the picket lines, and we thank him for his responsiveness to his constituents."
This morning, the University was officially notified that a Special Mediator, Trevor Sones, has been appointed by the provincial government. The Employer is supportive of mediated talks and looks forward to continuing negotiations towards a collective agreement. pic.twitter.com/JAY2WHE7gl
— University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) (@UNBC) November 27, 2019
