October 28: Students in industrial relations course pit wits for mock arbitration day

Students in Prof. Evie Adomait’s Industrial Relations course (ECON*2200) had the chance to put their learning into practice with a mock arbitration session held this weekend at Rozanski Hall. The all-day session was hosted by Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti, a Toronto-based firm specializing in labour relations and employment law.

With students divided into management and union teams, Adomait said both groups worked very diligently to put forth their best possible case for the negotiating scenario they were given. Staged to represent a real bargaining session down to the last detail, Adomait said each side was given smaller meeting rooms in which to formulate their arguments, before then presenting in a final group session with representatives from Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti presiding. The final ruling was then followed by a reception that went into the evening, in which students could discuss their cases in a more informal setting.

“It was a close call as to who would win, but the management side won,” Adomait said. “The students responded really well to the rulings. They did really well.”
After Guelph, Adomait said the team from Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti will take their mock arbitration session to master’s in industrial relations students at the University of Toronto and Queen’s University.