Film company threatens to leave N.S. after contract imposed
Butting heads at the bargaining table is far from a novel experience — especially when it comes to negotiating that very first contract.
Nova Scotia moved to ease that process in 2011, when it introduced first contract legislation. Under the law, the labour board or a third-party arbitrator can impose a collective agreement should both parties hit an impasse.
Though companies cried foul, arguing a collective agreement is nobody’s business but the employer and their workers, the legislation passed almost two years ago. Now, one of the first businesses to settle a deal under the hotly-contested law is threatening to pull out of the province.
Egg Films, a Halifax-based production company, had a first contract imposed on it by a third-party arbitrator after hitting a wall while bargaining with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).
The contract, Egg Films said, was a significant departure from what had been discussed at the bargaining table during negotiations.
As a result, the film production house filed an unfair labour complaint against Local 849 of the IATSE. According to Egg Films, there was no way the company could remain competitive should the bargaining unit opt for first contract arbitration.
But Keiren Tompkins, executive director at the province’s largest union, the Nova Scotia General Employees Union (NSGEU), argued first contract legislation has changed the course of certification in a province considered one of the hardest to certify.
"We’re a fairly large union in a small province. Our experience has been —although it’s been buried — we have had difficulty achieving first contracts with some of our members," he said, adding that signing that initial agreement can be a complicated matter. "It can frustrate members to the point where they choose not to certify."
Often, the fear of a strike or lockout drives both parties to hurriedly reach some form of compromise. But first contract legislation has led to fewer strikes, a clear indicator the laws are effective, Tompkins explained. Contracts can be negotiated without the threat of a strike or lockout.
He pointed to the Laing House, a Halifax-based mental health support facility and the first NSGEU unionized environment to sign an agreement under the first contract legislation during the summer.
While companies continue to resist the legislation, saying outside parties shouldn’t dictate internal working conditions, the union applauded the move.
But Egg Films argued otherwise — as have a slew of heavyweight employers. As part of the Nova Scotia Employers’ Roundtable a group of about 20 employers, including Michelin and Sobey’s, decried the legislation as unnecessary.
According to the group, internal working conditions should remain that way and third-party arbitrators or labour boards have no business getting involved. That would only further muddle the process, the companies argued.
"This contract legislation makes Nova Scotia less attractive to do business in," argued Mike Hachey, founder and owner of Egg Films. "We have found throughout this process that the biggest bone of contention is that now we are cut off from the workers by the union itself. The needs of the workers are not being met at all."
Of further concern is that third-party arbitrators might not be as well-versed on the ins and outs of niche workplaces,
such as the film industry.
"Add to that three people from the labour board imposed a contract based on a few hours of trying to get up to speed on my business," Hachey said. "It is absolutely insulting that the government and the labour board think it appropriate to impose a contract they see fit over one that I see fit with 10 years of experience. One day versus 10 years — insulting."
Gus Richardson, an arbitration lawyer with ADR Private Court, headquartered in Halifax, said employers should keep an open mind.
"The negotiations just don’t come to fruition and what ends up happening is they get locked into this increasingly adversarial situation, and the benefits of collective bargaining get lost in the collective struggle," he said.
Because first contract legislation only imposes a collective agreement for one year, it gives both the staff and their bosses time to cool off. That way, both sides of the fence be better suited to renegotiate, if they choose to do so.
"Employers were certainly upset about it because they’re upset they’re going to be forced into a unionized environment with collective agreements," he explained. "At the end of the day, their freedom is preserved. If, at the end of the year they’re not happy, then they don’t have to renegotiate. It’s a way of imposing breathing space on the parties and to allow them to try something else."
The legislation especially comes in handy when non-traditional workplaces seek to certify. While there is plenty of precedence for industries such as construction and transportation, film companies are less common in collective agreement history. Without a strong precedence to draw from, unique employers and their staff can get bogged down in a collective agreement hodgepodge.
"Because it was unusual, the parties didn’t have any precedent," Richardson said. "(Some) know what to expect by way of a collective agreement, there’s a touchstone to negotiate with. But Egg Films is unique."
