A cleaning contractor at a municipal facility in Dartmouth, N.S., terminated employees to prevent unionization efforts, according to unfair labour practice complaints filed with the Nova Scotia Labour Board.
Service Employees International Union Local 2 filed two complaints against Imperial Cleaners Limited, alleging the company violated the Trade Union Act by firing workers at Alderney Gate and retaliating against family members of union supporters. The union filed the first complaint on Nov. 29 and a second on Dec. 2.
“Imperial blatantly violated … the Act by terminating” a third of the workforce at Alderney Gate “in an effort to defeat the organizing campaign and create a chilling effect on other employees,” according to the first complaint.
The union is seeking reinstatement of affected employees, compensation for damages, and remedial certification.
Terminations followed union activity
Stan, a terminated employee who asked to be identified by first name only, said he was hired by Imperial in October 2024 at $17 per hour to clean the Woodside Ferry Terminal. He regularly worked more than 48 hours per week without overtime pay, according to the complaint.
Stan became an active union supporter in November after raising concerns with management about workloads. He discussed union benefits and SEIU’s Justice for Janitors movement with coworkers at Alderney Gate, where he had transferred in March.
“When they asked me to work more, I said yes. When they asked me if I knew anyone that they could hire, I said yes and they hired my cousin. It was only when I started standing up for myself and others, they started to target me,” said Stan.
Imperial terminated Stan’s employment via text message on the morning of Nov. 27. The company fired his cousin, also a known union supporter, later that afternoon.
Imperial told Stan’s cousin four days later he could return to work and his termination had been a “misunderstanding,” according to the union. Stan remains terminated.
A union certification vote is scheduled for Dec. 4. The complaints allege the terminations created a chilling effect on other employees’ willingness to exercise rights under the Act.
Living wage dispute preceded union drive
Imperial workers began speaking with union organizers in February 2025. The company took over cleaning contracts at Woodside Ferry Terminal and Alderney Gate in February and March respectively.
Alderney Gate and Woodside Ferry Terminal are city-owned sites subject to a living wage requirement of $28.30 under Halifax Regional Municipality’s 2022 procurement policy. Imperial had been paying most workers well below that rate, according to the union.
SEIU filed an application for judicial review in February alleging Imperial should not have received the Alderney Gate contract because the company’s bid did not comply with the living wage policy. Stan attributed a September wage increase workers received to that legal action and related advocacy, according to the complaint.
The previous cleaning contractor at Alderney Gate assigned approximately 12 employees to service the site. Imperial assigned six employees to perform the same work, according to the union.
Imperial replaced GDI, a unionized contractor whose workers had ratified a new collective agreement in January 2025. All 12 GDI workers lost their jobs when the contract changed hands.
The affected employees are particularly vulnerable due to their immigration status and working in a precarious industry, according to the union.
SEIU Local 2 represents 20,000 workers in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia.
