Estoppel:

The doctrine of estoppel may prevent the union or the employerfrom relying
on and enforcing the terms of the collective agreement. Where aparty makes a
representation to the other, by way of words or conduct, indicatingthat an issue will be
dealt with in a manner different from the provisions of theagreement, the party who
made the representation will not be able to later insist upon thecollective agreement
being enforced.
Statements made by a party to the agreement could be the basis foran estoppel. In one
case, a collective agreement provided that layoffs would occur inreverse order of seniority.
The employer, a hospital, hired two laboratory technicians. Thehiring manager assured
both technicians when they were hired that they would not be laidoff because of funding
cuts or the return of other employees to the department. However,the hospital laid off the
technicians 14 months after they were hired when other employeesreturned to the bargaining
unit. When the employees objected, they were told that thecollective agreement was
clear on the question of seniority on layoffs and there was nothingthat could be done
because they had the least seniority. A grievance was filed, andthe arbitrator held that the
doctrine of estoppel applied.20 Because of the representations madeto the technicians
before they were hired, the employer could not rely on thecollective agreement, and the
layoff of the technicians was nullified.
Estoppel is a legal concept providing
that if a party makes a representation
that an issue will be dealt with in a
manner different from the provisions of
the collective agreement, it will not be
able to later insist upon the collective
agreement being enforced as written.
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The union and the employer should be alert to the possibility ofestoppel based on
conduct or past practice. In one case, the collective agreementprovided that certain benefits
would be paid to employees after a three-day waiting period.21Despite the terms of the
collective agreement, the employer had a long-established practiceof paying employees
benefits during the three-day period. When the employer indicatedit would enforce the
three-day waiting period in the future, the union filed a grievancerelying on estoppel. The
arbitrator upheld the grievance and ordered the employer tocontinue to pay the benefits
according to its practice for the balance of the term of theagreement.
Similarly, a union might be caught by an estoppel argument based onprior past practice
if it failed to enforce all the terms of the agreement. Forexample, a collective agreement
will usually provide for a probationary period. If the employermade a habit of
extending the period, in breach of the agreement, and the uniontook no action, the union
may not be allowed to object to an extension of the period on thebasis of estoppel.22
An estoppel will not be established by a single failure to complywith or enforce the
collective agreement; however, employers and unions should be awareof the risk of
repeated failures to enforce a term of the agreement. An employerwho wanted to vary
from the collective agreement to deal with a short-term issue mightconsider consulting
with the union and attempting to reach an agreement that wouldprevent an estoppel
argument being raised when the employer wished to revert to theterms of the agreement.
If the agreement provided for a rate of remuneration for employeeswho drove their own
cars, and the price of gas increased significantly, an agreementmight allow the employer to
increase the mileage allowance for a time and avoid any possibleestoppel arguments later.
Estoppel does not mean that a party will be prevented fromenforcing the terms of the
agreement indefinitely. An estoppel will cease at the next round ofcontract negotiations if
the union or the employer advises the other that it will rely onthe strict terms of the agreement
in the future. The party that has previously relied on thevariation from the collective
agreement will have to negotiate a change to the agreement. If itfails to do so, it will be
deemed to have agreed to the application of the agreement aswritten.

In your own words, describe the concept of "estoppel" and whatsignificance it

has on the change process in a unionized work setting. (100 wordtarget).