10.4 Legislation and Unions
Employees, as separate individuals, have very little power when it comes to their relationship with companies’ management. However, when organized as a group, employees gain some power and can start leveraging that power to negotiate with their employer. This section discusses the process that a group of employees must undertake to become an official union. Unions call this a collective voice.
Legislation in Canada
The government in Canada sets the framework for unions and management through laws and role as an employer. The federal government and provincial governments have their own regulations. Jurisdiction over labour relations has impacts for HR departments. Canadian government has jurisdiction over airlines, railways, banks and federal agencies. All other companies fall under provincial regulations. Recently, unions have been critical of government interference in the collective bargaining process. The Green Party of Canada has criticized the federal government by stating, “Many times the government has used its legislative power to undermine collective bargaining and interfere with the free nature of collective bargaining. The Post Office, Air Canada, and the railways are examples. When a government uses its political agenda to control working conditions and wages, to its own benefit, it essentially is using its workers as political pawns” (Green Party of Canada, n.d., para. 9).
Core Elements of Labour Law
Because the federal and provincial regulations may differ, it makes it challenging for employers and HR departments to deal with unions, especially if they are a national company with satellite offices across Canada. However, there are core elements of labour law that include:
- Right to join a union: all employees have the right to join and participate in a union
- Must bargain in good faith: each party must negotiate “in good faith” which means to make a reasonable effort to reach and agree to a collective agreement through meeting each other and exchanging proposals that are sincere in reaching an agreement
- No strikes or lockouts during the time of the collective agreement: it is considered illegal for employees to strike and for the employer to lock out the employees during the time of the contract
- No unfair labour practices: all jurisdictions have laws prohibiting any unfair labour practices by the union or the employer i.e. false advertising of goods and services, deceptive pricing, noncompliance with set standards, no coercing of employer or employees in exercising their right
- Conciliation: the union and the employer must participate in conciliation processes before a lock out or a strike.
Legislation and Unionization
The path to unionization and the process of maintaining a union is heavily regulated. These regulations can vary from one legislation to another. In Canada, collective bargaining is embodied in federal and provincial labour relations acts and labour codes. Canadian workers have the right to join trade unions, which may be certified to collectively bargain conditions of employment with their employers on their behalf.
The Federal Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA) is the law that regulates the collective bargaining and grievance adjudication systems in the federal public service. Provincial legislation, such as the Labour Relations Code in British Columbia, the Labour Act of Prince Edward Island, and the Quebec Labour Code, regulate various aspects of labour relations for most workplaces. In North America, the legislation with the most pro-union legislation is found in the province of Quebec [PDF]. Coincidentally, it is also the jurisdiction with the highest unionization rates.
Labour Relations Boards (LRBs)
To ensure the labour relations between management and unions is enforced, labour boards are created at federal and provincial levels to administer the legislation. The government legislators investigate any violations of the laws either by the union or management. They have significant powers to decide if a person is an employee, if a person is an employee of a trade union, where a company is an appropriate bargaining agent, whether collective agreements are in force, and whether management or union is bound by a collective agreement. They rely on expert’s advice to resolve complaints. The board’s decision is final and binding.
If there is a complaint, HR departments would assist in preparing the case, along with the company’s lawyer. They may need to supply performance appraisals, job descriptions, or payroll records.
Legislation, Collective Agreements, and Policies Competencies
- Maintain knowledge of the details of collective agreements in place in the organization and in related organizations.
- Maintain knowledge of legislation that affects the HR practices at the organization.
- Maintain understanding of the organization’s vision, mission, values, and goals.
- Treat employees in accordance with the principles of natural justice.
- Manage the risk of litigation and conflict in all interactions with employees.
Source: HRPA Professional Competency Framework (2014), pg. 15. © HRPA, all rights reserved.
“10.4 Legislation and Unions” from Human Resources Management – 3rd Edition by Debra Patterson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
