Labour discontent heats up in Saskatchewan

Unions criticize bills addressing essential services and certification

The dispute between Saskatchewan’s unions and the provincial government over changes to the province’s labour laws is heating up. At a rally at the provincial legislature in Regina last month, Larry Hubich, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL), threatened a general strike if the province proceeds with its plans for a new essential services law and for amending the Trade Union Act.

Labour leaders in the province are concerned the changes could drastically erode workers’ rights and are being rushed through without sufficient consultation. The government emphasizes its intention is to “establish a fair and balanced labour environment and to ensure democratic workplaces.”

The Public Service Essential Services Act (Bill 5), which was passed May 14, would establish essential public services in virtually all areas of government, including government employees, and those working for Crown corporations, municipalities, health-care authorities, community service agencies and the province’s three post-secondary institutions.

Within 90 days of the expiration of a public service agreement, an essential services agreement would need to identify the essential service, the classifications of employees considered essential, the number in each classification and the names of the employees. The employer would advise the unions which services it considers essential, and the union could apply to the labour relations board to reduce that number.

The unions charge Bill 5 would give employers unlimited rights to unilaterally declare workers essential. Advanced Education, Employment and Labour Minister Rob Norris said the parties are nevertheless expected to negotiate the agreement and added provincial government agencies are developing their lists of essential workers.

On May 8, members of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) voted 77 per cent in favour of strike action if ongoing negotiations fail. SUN is “profoundly opposed” to Bill 5 and argues the bill is unnecessary because SUN has always had “an extensive contingency plan” for essential services during a job action. A submission to Norris states: “Nothing has changed in the last six months that would suddenly warrant such a wholesale disassembling of the public sector collective bargaining landscape.”

The second controversial piece of legislation, the wide-ranging Trade Union Amendment Act (Bill 6), received third reading on May 8. It amends the existing certification process. Card sign-up certification would be replaced with a certification vote. For a union to be certified, a majority of those eligible to vote would have to turn out and the majority of them would have to vote in favour.

In a news release, the SFL blasted this by saying: “Ballot certification that counts employees who don’t vote as a ‘no’ vote flies in the face of democracy.”

In addition, unions would have 90 days in which to sign up potential union members, down from six months. The number needed to trigger a vote rises from 25 per cent to 45 per cent, the same as in British Columbia and the highest sign-up requirement in the Western provinces. There is no limit on how long the labour board can take to call the certification vote, a situation one critic noted could benefit employers with high staff turnover.

Another section of Bill 6 deals with employer communication, especially during organizing drives but not limited to them, and allows employers more latitude in trying to persuade workers not to join a union. The Trade Union Act would be amended to state: “Nothing in this act precludes an employer from communicating facts and its opinions to its employees.”

The change would “uphold the right of employees to be fully informed on workplace issues during union organization drives,” said Norris.

In a brief to the minister, the SFL counters that the door would be wide open for employer coercion and intimidation.

Further, cabinet would be allowed to regulate the content of union sign-up cards and, in what would be a first for Saskatchewan, the three-year time limit on all collective agreements would be history.

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