Review of provincial statutes necessary to bring clarity to labour laws: Government
The public consultation period on a plan to review and consolidate labour law in Saskatchewan is over, but the vision for what the labour relations framework should look like in the province is anything but clear.
The governing Saskatchewan Party issued the consultation paper in May of this year and gave employers, trade unions, employer groups and other organizations 90 days to respond.
The government said the review was necessary to bring clarity to four acts governing workplaces in Saskatchewan.
In the reform paper, the province raised questions such as whether employees should be able to opt out of paying union dues or opt out of paying dues spent on non-union activities.
The paper also considers whether employers should have the right to decertify a union, through the Labour Relations Board, on the grounds the union is “not representing its employees” and whether employers should be allowed to voluntarily recognize an existing union without a vote.
Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), says many of these proposals violate international laws.
“This is coming out of the southern (United) States, not a mature province on the edge of an economic breakthrough,” he says. “They say, ‘We’re just asking the question. We’re not really doing it.’ I suspect it’s right wing ideologues trying to create a Tea Party movement.”
The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL), an umbrella organization that represents 98,000 workers in 37 unions across the province, used its submissions to question the authority of the provincial government to make reforms and to attack what it sees as unfairness and bias in the province’s approach.
The SFL accuses the consultation paper of being “littered with leading questions that nudge respondents in the direction of constraining working people’s rights” and questions the impetus for the review in the first place.
“Somewhat ironically, a politically motivated desire to intervene in the collective bargaining process, even in the name of ensuring labour peace, could ultimately exacerbate labour discord,” the organization writes.
The SFL notes that, of the 660 groups invited to make submissions, 40 represent working people — a point noted by several unions as well.
On the other side, the Merit Contractors Association of Saskatchewan supports several of the proposals, including allowing for cancellation of union certification if businesses close or relocate out of the province for more than three years.
Steve McLellan, CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, says the review “makes sense” given that some of the legislation is decades old.
“There are those who think the sky is falling, that even opening up the discussion and dialogue is bad,” he says. “I take the attitude that it’s good (the government) asked the questions.”
McLellan, who is also serving on the advisory committee that will review the submissions, says a majority of his 10,000 members share his attitude.
The chamber of commerce held three roundtable discussions, hosted an online survey and held meetings across the province to get members’ input, and came back with 10 recommendations as a result.
One would see the province allow greater flexibility in hours of work. McLellan says this could benefit both employers and employees in some circumstances, such as miners working in northern Saskatchewan.
“The last thing you want to do in a northern mine when you’re away from your family is stop working at eight hours so you can go play cards or watch a movie,” he says, noting there needs to be further discussion around safety and safeguards to protect employees and allow them to refuse overtime.
The chamber also recommends greater freedom of choice for unionized workers on several fronts, but adds there may be places to make compromises. For example, union dues paid by summer students could be directed into a scholarship fund to be accessed by students in unionized summer jobs.
Another recommendation would see union decertification be as easy as certification. Laws on decertification currently favour organized labour, McLellan says.
“Business is deemed to be more guilty,” he says, adding that while unions can dedicate time, money and expertise to certification efforts, there’s no similar pool of money or resources for unionized members to access during decertification. The chamber suggests the creation of an arms-length process within government to address this.
On the question of whether the minimum wage should be indexed, the chamber of commerce recommended against it. McLellan says, so far, he hasn’t seen a model that works in other jurisdictions. However, he says the chamber is open to further discussion.
