Commission des Transports du Québec to hear two appeals on owner-operator representation

QUEBEC CITY (Jan. 9, 2002) — The Commission des Transports du Québec agreed to hear at least two challenges to a controversial decision last month requiring owner-operators in the province to join one of three union-affiliated professional associations or face having their operating permits revoked.

The CTQ ruled on Dec. 7 that arm’s-length affiliates of the Syndicats des Metallos/Cooperative des Camionneurs, the Centrale des Syndicats Democratique, and the Confederation des Syndicats Nationaux met membership targets that allowed them to represent the interests of owner-operators at the Forum des Intervenants de l’Industrie du Camionnage General, a key government-industry task force.

The Forum was established by the province with the passage of Bill 135 last year. The group was created in part to outline the parameters of a formal business contract between trucking companies and owner-operators.

The law also set ground rules for organizations wanting to represent owner-operators at the Forum: collectively, they must have 50%-plus-one of the province’s registered owner-operators as members. The union-backed associations won by the thinnest of margins: out of the 5237 owner-operators registered with the CTQ, the total represented by the three groups is 50.9%.

The CTQ was accepting appeals of the decision through Jan. 7. The CTQ did not reveal who made the two appeals, or what their disputes entail, but Transport Routier magazine is reporting that one is a group of about 11 truckers.

CTQ spokesman Richard Anger said a commissioner would be appointed to hear the appeals and decide whether they are reasonable enough to force a review. Deciding whether the appeals are warranted may take a couple of weeks, while the entire process, if approved, may take a few months, Anger said.

Forum spokesperson Louise Bourque would not comment on the appeals. She said the organization would, however, have to decide what role the associations may play in future Forum meetings while their authority is under review.