On March 12, 2002 the provincial government released a “discussion paper” setting out various proposed changes to the Labour Relations Code (the “Code”).

View a copy of the discussion paper.

The purpose of this commentary is to assist unions in analyzing the proposed changes to the Code. If you have any questions as to how the proposed changes might apply in a particular situation, please do not hesitate to contact us.

There are 18 areas of proposed changes set out in the discussion paper. The discussion paper describes many of the proposals in very general terms, without providing the actual statutory language proposed to effect the changes. In addition, in some cases even the general intent of proposals is unclear. Consequently it is difficult to fully analyze all of the proposals. However, in our view, it is clear that there are several common themes running through these proposals:

1. The proposals would shift the emphasis of the Code from promoting collective bargaining to promoting employer “competitiveness”.

2. The proposals would make it much more difficult for non-union employees to obtain union representation.

3. The proposals would make it much more difficult for unionized employees to maintain their union representation in various circumstances.

4. The proposals would allow greatly increased state intervention in free collective bargaining and the internal affairs of unions.

In our view, while almost all of the proposals will adversely affect employees and their unions, the proposals with the most far-reaching negative implications are the following:

1. The proposed amendments concerning the purposes of the Code (Proposal #3). This proposal would likely result in a substantial change in the Board’s approach to the various substantive provisions of the Code and would also allow increased state intervention in free collective bargaining and the internal affairs of unions.

2. The proposed amendments concerning employer communications with employees (Proposal #5). This proposal would allow employers considerably increased latitude to actively campaign against unions during organizing campaigns, effectively immunizing employer communications from existing unfair labour practice provisions of the Code.

3. The proposed amendments concerning partial decertification of bargaining units (Proposal #18). This proposal would allow groups of employees to decertify without any regard for the impact on employees in the remainder of the bargaining unit.

4. The proposed amendments concerning decertification after two years of employer inactivity (Proposal #7). This proposal would have a very significant negative impact on employees and their unions in some industries, particularly the construction industry.

5. The proposed amendments concerning the exclusion of employees from bargaining units (Proposal #2). This proposal would likely result in many non-managerial employees being denied the right to union representation and collective bargaining.

See specific details and commentary of each of the 18 proposals.

Disclaimer
The material on this website is presented for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. You should seek appropriate legal advice before taking any action based on information provided through this website.