Having just announced his retirement, Jerry Dias is alleged to have breached union's constitution
Having only just announced that its long-time president was retiring, Unifor is now saying that Jerry Dias is being investigated after a complaint.
Received on Jan. 26, it alleges that Dias engaged in an alleged breach of the Unifor constitution.
Following a review of the complaint, an independent external investigation was started and Dias was notified on Jan. 29.
“In order to ensure the integrity of the ongoing investigation and to maintain confidentiality in accordance with the Unifor Constitution, specifics of the complaint will not be divulged at this time,” says the union.
On March 11, he went on medical leave and subsequently notified the national executive board of his immediate retirement on March 11, citing health issues. Dias was president since 2013.
“On behalf of our members and our leadership team, we wish Jerry well and thank him for his numerous and impactful contributions to working people over many years, from his days representing aerospace workers on the shop floor to national president of Canada’s largest private sector union,” said , Lana Payne, national secretary-treasurer at Unifor.
The union’s board is scheduled to meet on March 21 to discuss the matter.
Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers.
In October, Unifor called the escalating harassment faced by journalists – particularly online and targeting women and workers of colour – “absolutely unacceptable” and condemned the behaviour.
