INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS
IN CANADA
Third Edition
Fiona A. E. McQuarrie
Prepared by
Kenda Murphy, Saint Mary’s University
Chapter 1
An Introduction to Industrial
Relations in Canada
Chapter 1 Objectives
• At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
 Identify the various terms used to describe union



management relationships
Describe how other academic subjects might
address industrial relations issues
Identify the major pieces of legislation that
regulate Canadian industrial relations and explain
what they have in common
Understand how other kinds of Canadian
legislation affect industrial relations
Explain some of the major demographic and
statistical features of Canadian union membership
What Is Industrial Relations?
• Industrial relations:
 Refers to the relationship between a union and
an employer
• The difference between Industrial Relations
(IR) and Human Resource Management (HR)
is that IR refers to employment relationships
in a unionized environment whereas HR
deals with employment relationships in all
types of organizations.
The Legal Framework
• Jurisdiction
 Depending on the situation, union-employer
relations may be governed by federal or
provincial legislation
 Until the mid-1920s, all IR issues were
covered by federal laws
 In 1925, case of Snider vs. Toronto Electrical
Commission established that industrial
relations were mostly a provincial
responsibility
Federal Jurisdiction
• Any business that operates interprovincially,
in that it crosses provincial boundaries, is
covered by federal labour laws
• Examples of interprovincial businesses are
banking, telecommunications, broadcasting
and interprovincial transportation
• Federal government and Crown Corporation
employees are also covered by federal laws
Provincial Jurisdiction
• Provincial labour law covers businesses that
operate within the boundaries of that province
or intraprovincially
 Covers 90 percent of union-employer
relationships in Canada
Types of Laws Covering Labour
Relations
Labour Relations Laws
• Federal and provincial labour relations acts share
common characteristics that include:
 Establishing union certification procedures
 Setting the minimum term for collective
agreements between employer and union
 Establishing procedures for legal strikes and
lockouts
 Establishing dispute resolution mechanisms
 Defining unfair labour practices
 Creating labour relations board
Public Sector Labour Relations
Legislation
• Para-public or quasi-public sector legislation
 These laws cover government employees and/or
employees of agencies and bodies affiliated with
the government
 These employees work in an arm’s length capacity
from the government in that they are funded by the
government but not directly paid by the
government
 Examples: health care workers, court workers,
employees of colleges and universities
Other Relevant Legislation
• Employment Standards Legislation
• Human Rights Legislation
• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Human Rights Legislation
• Exists in every jurisdiction
• Prohibits discrimination ii—intentional or
systemic—on the basis of personal
characteristics or attributes, known as
protected or prohibited grounds
• There are, however, instances where the
requirements of a job will, by necessity,
exclude certain people or allow only certain
candidates to apply
Human Rights Legislation
• Implications for unions and employers:
 Collective agreements must not contain
clauses that have the effect of discriminating
 Unions and employers must not act in a
discriminatory fashion
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
guarantees certain basic rights and freedoms
to all Canadians
• The Charter is the pre-eminent law in Canada
with two exceptions:
 Laws that can be justified as imposing
reasonable limits in a “free and democratic
society”
 Laws passed by invoking the “notwithstanding”
provision
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• The Charter broadly defines a number of
fundamental rights
• Major cases involving industrial relations
issues have focused on these rights:
 Freedom of association—right to join a union
 Freedom of peaceful assembly—right to picket
 Freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and
expression—right to promote union belief and
philosophy
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Key early Charter cases:
 Dolphin Delivery, 1982: Supreme Court of Canada
(SCC) ruled that Charter provisions do not apply
to court orders resolving common-law-based
disputes between private parties
 The “labour trilogy,” 1990: SCC ruled that the right
to belong to a union is protected by the Charter,
but the rights to strike and bargain collectively are
not
 Lavigne, 1991: The Supreme Court ruled that
mandatory union dues do not violate the Charter
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Other important cases…
• Dunmore v. Ontario (Attorney-General), 2001:
The Supreme Court ruled that the right to
freedom of association was violated if an entire
class of workers—e.g., farm workers—was
excluded from protection under labour legislation
• However, while Ontario changed its law to allow
agricultural workers to unionize that law does not
allow them to engage in collective bargaining
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Health Services and Support case – SCC
(2007) – BC’s Bill 29 was ruled
unconstitutional on the basis that the right to
collective bargaining was part of the freedom
of association guaranteed by the Charter
• Plourde v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp [2009]
SCC – The Court ruled that the Wal-Mart in
Jonquierre, Quebec was within its right to
close the store for business reasons
Characteristics of the Unionized
Workplace in Canada
• A unionized workplace is more likely to be in the
public sector and involve a large workforce
• Rates of unionization are similar across broad
industrial categories, but there are wide variations
across different occupations
• Union membership is slightly higher among women
and older workers
• Union members are relatively well-educated and
likely to be full-time employees
Overview of Text
Chapter 1
• Introduces theoretical and historical background,
explains evolution of Canadian workplaces and
relevant legislation
Chapter 2
• Overview of theories and research addressing
creation of unions, and how unions’ purpose have
changed over time
Chapter 3
• Historical events and forces affecting evolution of
Canadian labour relations
Overview of Text
Chapter 4
• Structure of Canadian unions: national,
provincial, municipal and local organizations
Chapter 5
• Why employees may or may not wish to join a
union
Chapter 6
• How a labour relations board assesses a
certification application
Overview of Text
Chapter 7
• The effects of a certification order
Chapter 8
• The four stages of collective bargaining
Chapter 9
• Strikes and lockouts
Chapter 10
• Third-party intervention: conciliation, mediation
and arbitration
Overview of Text
Chapter 11
• Grievances and the Arbitration Process
Chapter 12
• Changes during the collective agreement:
“successorship”; raiding and union mergers;
decertification; technological change and
workplace restructuring
Overview of Text
Chapter 13
• Recent changes in the Canadian workplace and
their implications for unions and employers
• Recent changes to labour legislation and their
implications for the future of union-employer
relationships
• Effects of globalization on industrial relations
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