Expedited Arbitration: A Study of Outcomes and Duration

The expediency and expensive nature of the Canadian labour arbitration system continues to be a long-standing issue for unions and employers. The study used a sample of 554 expedited and traditional labour arbitration cases from British Columbia and Ontario. Our research responds to a gap in the literature that assesses the delay and outcome of expedited arbitration cases in comparison to traditional arbitration cases. As expected, the study results revealed that expedited arbitration cases were decided faster than traditional arbitration cases. Delay was examined at various stages of the process including if the delay occurred in obtaining a hearing, receiving the decision or the total delay. Second, the research indicated that the arbitration method was not related to the success of the grievance outcome.