The former national president has been on sick leave since February 6 and abruptly retired on March 11.
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A day after Unifor announced that Jerry Dias had resigned as national president, the union confirmed that Dias was under independent investigation into an alleged violation of the Unifor constitution.
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The nature of the alleged offense was not disclosed.
“In order to ensure the integrity of the ongoing investigation and to maintain confidentiality in accordance with Unifor’s constitution, details of the complaint will not be released at this time,” Unifor said in a statement Monday.
National Secretary-Treasurer Lana Payne launched the independent external investigation after reviewing the written complaint received on January 26.
“We appreciate that the news of an inquest is shocking and disturbing, but we want to ensure that all appropriate steps have been and are being taken in accordance with our constitution and while respecting the rights of everyone involved in the process,” union leadership said in the statement. .
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Dias was notified of the investigation on January 29 and went on sick leave on February 6. On Sunday, the union said it informed them on March 11 of his immediate retirement, saying “he continues to face ongoing health issues”.
In a statement relating solely to his retirement, Dias said on Sunday, “After eight and a half years, I can proudly say that we have built an incredible organization and made Unifor the influential and successful union it is today.
In that same statement, Payne said, “On behalf of our members and leadership team, we wish Jerry well and thank him for his many impactful contributions to workers over many years.”
Unifor’s national executive board is set to meet on March 21 to discuss the investigation. It is the largest private sector union in Canada, representing 315,000 workers, including non-executive editorial staff at the Toronto Sun.
The union said it would have no further comment until it receives the investigation report, which is expected “in the near future”.
slaurie@postmedia.com
