Workers at Canadian Blood Services seek minimum guaranteed hours
Canadian Blood Services (CBS) employees in Charlottetown are on strike — and on the move.
The strike involves 11 local clinic support and recruitment employees at CBS’ permanent blood donor clinic in Prince Edward Island. The part-time workers — represented by the Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private Employees (NSUPE) Local 19 — went on strike Sept. 7 after continued negotiations between the parties failed to reach an agreement.
And though their numbers may be small, the group’s picketing has caused a big reaction within the community.
"The response from the public has been fantastic," said NSUPE president Joseph Kaiser. "Lots of donors and others have joined us on the picket line at various times and written letters of support to CBS. We’re overwhelmed by how much people have done to help us."
In an effort to garner as much support as possible, the union has regularly moved its picket line throughout the community.
"The CBS centre is in downtown Charlottetown but on a fairly quiet street," Kaiser said. "The members decided to move the picket line around so they would be more visible and raise greater public awareness about the strike."
The main issue for the workers is the minimum number of guaranteed hours. Minimum guaranteed hours are crucial, the union said, because employees must work at least 18.75 hours per week to maintain their benefits.
"We want to know that Canadian Blood Services will maintain at least some of our jobs as real jobs or, in other words, jobs that have enough hours to continue to be eligible for benefits and to have enough income to support their families," Kaiser said.
The parties’ previous contract expired in 2011 and employees have been working under the terms of the expired agreement as negotiations have been ongoing. While wages and the length of contract are also outstanding, Kaiser said the issue of minimum guaranteed hours is the union’s priority.
A conciliation officer was appointed by the province’s Ministry of Labour in August in an attempt to reach an agreement. The resulting final offer was rejected by an "overwhelming majority" of members.
"The union members felt that, without strike action, CBS wouldn’t move off its position of having complete flexibility over the minimum number of hours for their jobs. NSUPE 19 members feel they made concessions to try to reach an agreement but that they didn’t see any reciprocal movement by CBS," Kaiser said.
CBS declined to comment on the outstanding issues with the bargaining unit, but director of donor relations Peter MacDonald said the organization remains "committed to reaching a mutually satisfactory agreement with NSUPE Local 19."
MacDonald went on to say the province will continue to receive blood products from CBS’s national inventory as the distribution of blood products to P.E.I. hospitals and the operation of mobile clinics continues to be managed from Dartmouth, N.S.
CBS manages the national supply of blood, blood products, stem cell and related services for all provinces and territories with the exception of Quebec. The not-for-profit organization — regulated as a biologics manufacturer by Health Canada — is primarily funded by the provincial and territorial ministries of health.
Pubic perception
This perceived need to strike could be a contributing factor behind the public’s support of the union during labour action, according to David Gordon, managing partner at Cohn & Wolfe and chair of the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms.
"If you move to a strike or lockout, I think the public opinion rests on your ability to convince and illustrate to the public that the step was truly necessary, that it was appropriate," he said.
For both unions and employers, Gordon said, it is important for the public to see your positions as genuine, balanced and reasonable. Blatant or thinly veiled self-interest or any form of perceived selfishness is likely to turn the public off of a labour dispute.
Additionally, Gordon said, "there’s an effect from people who seem intractable and extreme in their demands or their bargaining positions."
The NSUPE Local 19 employees have, in their rotating picket line, had opportunity to explain their position to the public and discuss the impact of ongoing negotiations on their personal and professional lives.
Most significantly, Gordon said, may be the fact the employees’ strike has not affected CBS services in the area.
"One of the key underlying elements of the labour dispute itself is that it affects a much broader audience than those that are actually present at the negotiating table," he said.
Customers and investors will always consider their interests in a labour dispute, Gordon said. Because parties outside of those directly involved in bargaining are often affected by the outcome of negotiations, the public perception of labour disputes and the impact of that public perception on the union or employer can play a tremendous role in negotiations.
"Public perception has an influence at the table and, almost more importantly, a perceived influence outside of the table," Gordon said.
"That goes both for management or labour — it doesn’t matter which side of the table you’re on. Because both management and labour have brands of their own."
And while it can be tempting to negotiate in the media in an attempt to court public opinion, Gordon said, it is important to remember the parties’ most recent agreement only buys time before the next negotiation.
"For either side of the table, I think, if you want to be perceived as successful in the negotiation process — forget the output, but successful in the process — is that you are respectful of the process," Gordon said.
