Public sector unions caution against centralized model
New reforms introduced in Alberta will streamline negotiations between the government and public sector unions, according to the premier.
Jim Prentice announced earlier this month that the provincial government will overhaul the way it bargains with public service unions, in order to establish a co-ordinated and disciplined approach.
On the heels of the announcement, Prentice also established a working group to address labour relations, led by Alberta’s justice and solicitor-general deputy minister, Tim Grant.
Grant is tasked with developing a funding mechanism that is "fair, consistent and respectful of both workers and taxpayers," according to Prentice, and is expected to report back in four months.
Until then, labour groups warn that their clout at the bargaining table may be dwindling.
"We think it’s a recipe for poisoning labour relations," said Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.
"When it’s more centralized, all the power, when it comes to collective bargaining, is in the hands of the premier and the cabinet. It will politicize the bargaining process and take negotiations away from employers who actually know what’s happening on the front lines and in workplaces."
Of particular concern for the AFL is that — should a more unified scheme be applied — political agendas will prevail and the government will use its position to force unsavoury contracts that impose rollbacks on public sector staffers.
But plummeting oil prices in a province almost wholly financially dependent on such revenue are having an impact. Not unlike most other provincial governments, Prentice announced austerity measures for the forthcoming budget, slated for the end of this month.
"Alberta is facing a significant fiscal challenge. In the coming year, we are looking at a $7-billion revenue shortfall, with continued shortfalls in the years after that," he said in a statement. "Alberta has benefited from high revenues and low taxes, and used resource revenues to cover the difference. That is no longer sustainable."
Of late, contracts have been costly, he added, citing the $2.6-billion raise expected for public sector workers over the next three years.
"This is about getting our own house in order and improving how we bargain," he said. "As public servants, we are all paid out of the same purse. At times, bargaining is conducted as though there are different owners of that purse when, in reality, there is only one: the Alberta taxpayer."
Having a key player such as the province involved could streamline the process, according to David Corry, partner at the labour and employment firm Gowlings in Calgary.
Corry, who represented management during bargaining with Alberta's teachers, said having the party that controls the purse at the table can ease tension and facilitate communication.
"We had to go to all sorts of extremes to get the government’s attention; we were communicating as most effectively as we could without any formal process with the ministers of labour and education, trying to get the message up to the premier’s office," he said. "It led to considerable conflict between the local school boards."
Corry pointed west to British Columbia, which evinces a viable blueprint.
In that province, umbrella councils enforce centralized bargaining with public workers, such as the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association, which handles negotiations at schools for whipsaw agreements.
"If you have (employer) boards unprepared for bargaining or at odds over the government’s agenda, that can sometimes make it very very difficult because, at the end of the day, the government is responsible for raising the money and paying the proceeds to finance the collective bargaining process — but they’re not at the bargaining table."
The right to strike
As part of his mandate, Grant will also look at enshrining the right to strike — a perk not constitutionally proffered in the province.
Prompted by the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year striking down Saskatchewan’s essential services legislation as unconstitutional, Alberta is tasked with determining what defines an emergency or essential service, how services will be provided during a strike, and which mechanism will be applied during conflict resolution (think binding arbitration).
McGowan lauded that particular move as the silver lining.
"We have mixed feelings about the premier’s announcement," he added.
Up next are consultations with Alberta’s unions, something Prentice said will happen before the end of March.
