Move to give construction workers ability to choose unions benefits almost all
Some of us may be surprised to hear the government of Saskatchewan is finally legislating the right of construction workers to choose the labour union of their choice. Today, construction workers in Saskatchewan are only permitted to join a slate of American-based craft unions — other all-Canadian construction unions are not permitted, by law, to represent these workers.
“But that’s ridiculous,” some might say. After all, we live in a country that gives preferential treatment to citizen choice. It’s enshrined in the Constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, United Nations’ treaties and is the very definition of the liberalism Canadians enjoy. However, it’s true. The laws of Saskatchewan require any worker in the construction industry to choose between non-union and American craft-based unions if they want access to work.
The government of Saskatchewan should be commended for taking steps to introduce labour pluralism through Bill 80, an act to amend its labour code. Making the case in support of this legislation is easy when you consider the principle of freedom of association is well-entrenched in international and national law.
In 1972, Canada ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection for the Right to Organize Convention hosted by the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency. A total of 150 countries have ratified this convention that spells out Canada’s obligations to workers who wish to belong to a union:
Article 2: Workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organization concerned, to join organizations of their own choosing without previous authorization.
Article 3: The public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof.
Article 11: Each member of the ILO for which this convention is in force undertakes to take all necessary and appropriate measures to ensure that workers and employers may exercise freely the right to organize.
Besides the international requirement, there is also a national legal obligation to respect workers’ right to freely associate for the purpose of collective bargaining. The charter expresses this requirement in section 2(d) and the Supreme Court of Canada defined how this provision applies specifically to labour management relations in a 2007 ruling.
In BC Health Services v. British Columbia, the court stated:
• The charter should be presumed to provide at least as great a level of protection as is found in the international human rights documents Canada has ratified.
• Recognizing workers have the right to bargain collectively as part of their freedom to associate reaffirms the values of dignity, personal autonomy, equality and democracy that are inherent in the charter.
• To constitute substantial interference with freedom of association, the intent or effect must seriously undercut or undermine the activity of workers joining together to pursue the common goals of negotiating workplace conditions and terms of employment with their employer.
Saskatchewan’s Bill 80 is finally bringing the provinces labour market practice in line with international and national laws, a labour practice that has been adopted by a vast majority of provinces and territories, including British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.
Applying the legal principle of freedom of association may not convince everyone Bill 80 is good public policy. After all, the craft-based unions in Saskatchewan are convinced workers are able to exercise their right to association by choosing them, but only them. However, there are other compelling reasons to open up the labour market in Saskatchewan:
Competition: It is commonly understood competition among grocery stores, automotive garages and beauty salons serves the public interest. It keeps prices low and encourages firms to offer good service to maintain customer loyalty. Allowing craft unions sole access to the construction labour market is like giving Wal-Mart an exclusive licence to sell televisions in Canada. Over time, prices creep upwards and quality slips to miserable levels.
Worker choice: One of the cornerstones of Canadian life is democracy. Democracy includes the right and privilege of choice. Choice should not be fettered by legislative order unless it serves some higher social good. In the case of union representation, workers should be granted an unfettered right to choose the union of their liking; a union they believe will represent their interests well and at a reasonable cost. Union choice is not the prerogative of the state but it is the prerogative of its citizens.
Wall-to-wall representation: Since the beginning of the 20th century, there has been a tug of war between craft unions and industrial-style unions. Historically, the difference rested solely on one group’s desire to protect its craft from “uneducated and unskilled” workers — the industrial class. But now the model is moving towards an all-craft union approach that incorporates all the skilled and labouring classes under one agreement. This model has proven to be more efficient and productive because the trades concern themselves less with jurisdiction of work and more with accomplishing the tasks required to finish the job on time and on budget. Competition among unions in Saskatchewan will allow all-craft unions, or what are known as wall-to-wall unions, to lower costs and improve efficiencies on work sites everywhere.
Larger pool of contractors to bid on work: Saskatchewan is on the cusp of an industrial and civil building boom. Allowing a small pool of contractors to bid on construction will keep costs artificially high. Opening the bidding process to companies unionized with alternative wall-to-wall unions will reduce the cost of projects, allowing public and private funds to go further in Saskatchewan.
More training for Saskatchewan’s workforce: Unions are a great source of learning for the workforce and the proliferation of unions within a community improves access to skill and safety training. All construction unions negotiate special training funds with respective employers, which feed an alternative learning system that complements formal learning centres such as colleges and trade schools.
Bill 80 will open up the labour market in Saskatchewan and provide conditions for improving worker choice, lowering construction costs and increasing accountability among all unions for the privilege of representing workers in the land of the Roughriders. Putting aside monopolies is never a bad thing — it opens up markets and leads to innovation and human flourishing. We should all be in favour of that.
Chris Bosch is director of research and education at the Christian Labour Association of Canada, a Mississauga, Ont.-based union that represents more than 47,000 workers in a variety of industries across Canada. He can be reached at [email protected].
