Download EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN CANADA

5TH EDITION
INTERNATIONAL
& COMPARATIVE
EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
Globalisation and change
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury and Nick Wailes
CHAPTER 4
Employment Relations in Canada
Mark Thompson and Daphne G. Taras
© Allen & Unwin, 2011. These slides are support material for International and Comparative Employment Relations 5th edition. Lecturers using the
book as a set text may freely use these slides in class, and may distribute them to students in their course only. These slides may not be posted on
any university library sites, electronic learning platforms or other channels accessible to other courses, the university at large or the general public.
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
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Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Lecture outline
Key themes
Historical, economic and political context
Unions
Management
The role of the state
Collective bargaining
Strikes
Dispute settlement
Public sector employment relations
Political role of the labour movement
Conclusions
Chapter 4:
2 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Key themes
• Strong legal protection for collective bargaining
• A large portion of the labour force is subject to the
influence of collective bargaining, either directly or
indirectly
• Traditions of adversarialism and moderate levels of
strike activity
• Structures of employment relations are less
centralised than in other nations
• Hybrid of US-style individualism and European
traditions of collectivism
Chapter 4:
3 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Historical context
• Influence of French Canada – province of Quebec in
particular has social, economic and legal traditions
distinct from those of the rest of North America
• High levels of immigrant workers – almost 20% of all
Canadians are immigrants and immigrants have
accounted for 80% of labour market growth in recent
years
• French influence, strong relationship and proximity
to the US and high levels of immigration have led to a
hybrid of US-style individualism and European
traditions of collectivism in employment relations
Chapter 4:
4 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Economic context
• Canada depends heavily on the production and export
of raw materials and semi-processed products – these
markets do not generate substantial direct
employment
• Canada signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the
US in 1988 and then the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and the United
States in 1994 – the US now accounts for 78% of
Canada’s exports
• There is extensive US ownership in many primary and
secondary industries
Chapter 4:
5 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Political context
• Canada’s federal system of government is decentralised – power is vested in
ten Canadian provinces
• All jurisdictions have similar labour legislation
• Federal authority is limited to regulation of the federal civil services and
national industries (e.g. inter-provincial transport) – amounting to
approximately 8.4% of Canadian workers
• Multi-party political system reflecting regional interests
• Main political parties are the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party
(currently in power)
• Each province has a distinct political culture reflecting regional differences –
none of the federal parties are strong in all of the provinces
• The Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution had no effect on
private sector employment for many years. However, a Supreme Court ruling
in 2007 held that the Charter protected collective bargaining in institutions
and that this right should be interpreted by international standards
Chapter 4:
6 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Unions in Canada
• Unionisation often occurs at the level of the workplace, reinforcing
the decentralised nature of the Canadian system
• The Federal government and provinces protect the right of most
employees to form unions through laws that set out the procedure
by which a union may demonstrate majority support from a group of
employees to obtain the right of exclusive representation for them
• Employers are then required to bargain by law with the certified
union
• The major function of all unions is collective bargaining, although
some unions have recently taken on broader roles including
supporting political parties and various social causes
• The majority of Canadians that are represented by unions are
required to pay union dues, whether they desire to be members of
the union or not (this prevents ‘free riding’)
Chapter 4:
7 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Union density
• Approximately 29% of Canadian non-agricultural workers were
unionised in 2008
• In 2007, 72% of the public sector was unionised and 17% of the
private sector was unionised
• Absolute numbers of unionised workers have continued to grow
since 1984 but this growth has lagged behind increases in the
size of the labour market, meaning that union density has
declined moderately – this contradicts the experience of the US
• There are approximately 250 unions in Canada, ranging in size
from less than 100 members to almost half a million
• The 15 largest unions contain 59% of all unionised workers
Chapter 4:
8 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Peak union bodies in Canada
• Two-thirds of all Canadian unions are affiliated with a national centre
(peak union)
• The most important central confederation is the Canadian Labour
Congress (CLC) representing almost 72% of all union members
• The CLC is the political voice of the Canadian labour movement but it has
no involvement in bargaining or substantial control over its affiliates
• The power of the CLC is limited by the constitutionally weak position of
the federal government over industrial relations and the poor political
record of the New Democratic Party (NDP)
• The second largest peak union body is the Confederation of National
Trade Unions (CNTU, or CSN in French) representing 6.4% of all workers,
most of whom are located in Quebec. The CNTU is known to be the most
radical and politicised labour organisation in North America
Chapter 4:
9 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Management
• Employers generally accept the role of unions in unionised firms, particularly
where there is a long history of unionism
• Non-unionised firms try to avoid unionisation by matching pay and conditions
available in unionised workplaces, known as “union substitution policies”
• Almost 20% of non-union workplaces have formal employee representation
plans – thus whilst unionism is 29% of the Canadian workforce, collective
employee representation is considerably higher
• MNEs operating in unionised sectors in Canada generally do not import
industrial relations practices from their home countries
• Use of High Commitment Work Practices in unionised workplaces is limited
but employers are seeking to move away from the traditional adversarial
system
• Employers generally prefer workers to be flexible, already trained and
disposable – long term employment contracts are no longer the norm and
pay systems increasingly focus on performance-based pay
Chapter 4:
10 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
The role of the state
• The Canadian government is a major employer, employing 19% of the
labour force, directly and indirectly
• Each province, as well as the Federal government, sets industrial relations
law and employment standards in the industries under its jurisdiction –
employees have not had their statutory rights increased for over a decade
• Employment standards usually set minima in areas of pay and holidays –
often not enforced
• Extensive government regulation of union-management relations
– Often combines many features of the US National Labour Relations Act (Wagner
Act) and the older Canadian pattern of reliance on conciliation of labour disputes
• Legislation imposes few requirements on the substance of a collective
agreement – yet the exceptions to this are significant and expanding
• Separate legislation exists federally and in most provinces for the public
sector
Chapter 4:
11 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Collective bargaining
• Collective bargaining in Canada is decentralised
• The most common level of negotiation is the single
workplace/single union model – followed by multi-employer/single
union (together these models cover over 80% of all workers)
• Company-wide bargaining is common in the federal level and in
provincially regulated industries concentrated in a single province
• Bargaining often follows regional, not national, patterns
• Issues include pay, union security, hours and holidays, promotion
and layoff provisions and fringe benefits
• Often supplementary agreements exist for specific situations or
work areas
• Most collective agreements include binding arbitration clauses
• Litigation is frequent and legalistic
Chapter 4:
12 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Future of collective bargaining in Canada
• Decentralised nature of Canadian collective bargaining structures
responded well to economic deregulation of the 1980s and 1990s
• Yet, as in other DMEs, the future of collective bargaining is uncertain as
debate focuses on the ability of unions to expand beyond their
traditional membership bases
• Canadian unions have faced difficulty replicating membership successes
of the heavy industry and blue-collar occupations in the service sector
and technologically advanced industries
• Sharp decline in manufacturing during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis
exacerbated this challenge
• Immediate future of collective bargaining will be a function of the
actions of governments and employers in the face of union economic
and political power – federal and provincial governments are unlikely to
adjust union power beyond moderate reductions in their legal position
Chapter 4:
13 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Management and collective bargaining
• In response to the increased economic competition
and deregulation of the 1980s and 1990s, Canadian
employers initiated layoffs and increased their use of
part-time and casual labour
• There was no general movement to escape unionism
due to traditionalism and legal forces
• Most employer associations advocate cooperation
with unions and have not publicly called for
deregulation of labour markets
• It is unclear whether this support would continue in
the absence of a protective legal framework
Chapter 4:
14 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Strikes
• Canadian law prohibits strikes during the operation of a collective agreement
• Canada has relatively high levels of working days lost due to strikes
compared with other DMEs
• From 1986-1995, Canada’s strike rate was about 2.5 times higher than the
OECD average
• The decentralised structure of collective bargaining and reductions in
manufacturing employment virtually eliminated private sector strikes in the
1980s
• Canadian strikes steadily declined during the 1990s but remained above the
OECD average
• Worker involvement in Canadian strikes is usually medium to low (3-10% of
union members) and the size of the strikes is not particularly large. In recent
years, the average duration has been 12-15 days
• Most large strikes in the 1990s and after 2000 occurred in the public sector
Chapter 4:
15 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Dispute settlement methods
• Public policies to reduce industrial disputes usually fall into
two models and are closely linked to the political orientation
of the government:
– Mandated consultation and/or tripartite committees
– Legislative controls on the exercise of union power
• Currently, settlement of disputes is usually by way of
mediation (no report is issued) or conciliation (a tripartite
board issues a public report) – more than half of all collective
agreements are achieved with an element of third-party
intervention
• Compulsory arbitration of interest disputes is rare – generally
limited to disputes in the public sector or essential services
Chapter 4:
16 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Public sector employment relations
• This is the area of Canadian employment relations most subject
to change
• It is often subject to severe bargaining restrictions and/or the
imposition of unilateral bargaining outcomes in the form of
legislation
• Unions have vigorously protested these measures but with little
success
• However, in 2007 the health care unions litigated a similar
measure under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• The Canadian Supreme Court found the measures violated the collective
bargaining protections when interpreted by ILO standards
• The full implications of this decision are yet to be seen, but it is clear that
Canadian governments are barred from passing severe legislation
affecting collective bargaining in the public sector
Chapter 4:
17 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Political role of the labour movement
• Officially the CLC supports the NDP but this alliance has presented
problems at the federal level
– The NDP has not had success at the federal level of politics
– The union movement has not been able to deliver large blocs of votes to
federal NDP
– After electoral finance reforms in 2003 and 2005, unions and corporations are
now no longer able to fund political campaigns
• Labour's political alliance with the NDP has been more successful in
the provinces yet runs the risk of politicising the union movement
• The Social Contract in Ontario (an NDP government’s attempt to
negotiate substantial reductions in compensation with public sector
bargaining agents) demonstrated the NDP’s ability to undermine the
labour movement, yet withdrawing political support for the NDP
meant that an even more conservative political party came to power
Chapter 4:
18 Canada
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative
Employment Relations 5th edition
Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Conclusions
• Decentralised structure of the collective bargaining
system has allowed Canada to respond well to
changes in economic conditions
• The labour movement currently enjoys traditional
and legal legitimacy
• Absolute union membership numbers are increasing
but density rates are declining
• A major change in the trajectory of Canadian
employment relations in the near future is unlikely
© Allen & Unwin, 2011. These slides are support material for International and Comparative Employment Relations 5th edition. Lecturers using the
book as a set text may freely use these slides in class, and may distribute them to students in their course only. These slides may not be posted on
any university library sites, electronic learning platforms or other channels accessible to other courses, the university at large or the general public.