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A provincial labour board has sided with the City of Saskatoon in their dispute with the union representing transit workers.
The labour board ruled on Wednesday the city will not have to pay any more that the $651,000 already paid out to members of the Amalgamated Transit Union 615 (ATU) stemming from the 2014 transit lockout.
The first time around, the labour board ruled on Oct. 17th, 2014 that a two-week portion of the roughly month long lockout was illegal because it was declared before the board resolved a separate grievance over a suspended bus driver.
That grievance was resolved on Oct. 3, 2014, triggering the payout back to the start of the lockout on Sept.18, 2014.
However the ATU came back to the board after the Oct.17 decision seeking compensation for the entire month long lockout.
In a written decision the board said its original decision on Oct. 17, 2014 was final, stating the union should have made the request for additional compensation when the the case was heard on Oct.14.
“It seems disingenuous, not having raised the issue earlier, to now, by this fresh application, seek to correct that oversight,” the board wrote.
The transit union which has been without a contract since December 2012 is weighing its options after the setback.
“ATU is disappointed with the labor boards decision and will assess and determine what options and course of action exist in relation to this decision,” the union said on its twitter account.
