Questions and answers on Bill
C-4, Budget Implementation
Act
What impact will the proposed
new designation process have
on collective bargaining?
• The bill will give the federal government
the unilateral right to designate employees
as essential.
• The bill will also says that if 80 per cent or
more of the employees of a bargaining unit
are essential, the bargaining unit can’t
take strike action.
Impact continued
• We can anticipate that the government will use
this new power to greatly expand the number of
employees who are essential, thereby
significantly restricting the right to strike.
• The right to collective bargaining by definition
must include the right to strike, or access to a
fair and impartial third-party arbitration system
when bargaining reaches an impasse. The new
bill will limit the right to strike, and at the same
time change the rules of arbitration such that it is
neither fair nor impartial.
Who is designated essential
right now?
• Under current law, a service, facility or a particular work
activity can be designated essential if it is necessary for
the safety and security of the public, or a segment of the
public.
• Our union agrees that the health and safety of the public
must never be put at risk. We have come to agreements
with the government on what is essential. When we can’t
agree, the current system allows a neutral and
knowledgeable third party to make the decision. Not only
is that the current system, but it’s also the system in
place for other employers under federal jurisdiction
(under the Canada Labour Code).
Who is designated essential
right now?
• What the government wants to do is
decide all by itself what is essential and
who is essential. We believe that it will use
this new and unprecedented power to do
away with our collective bargaining power.
How many federal public service
workers are designated essential
now?
• Right now approximately 40,000 positions
in the PSAC bargaining units are affected
by essential service designations. We
have approximately 140,000 members in
total in the public service. It is important to
note that under the current system, an
employee who is designated essential is
not required to carry out non-essential
duties in the event of a strike.
Essential Emloyees
• Under the proposed rules, all employees
designated essential by the employer will
be required to complete all of their duties
(essential or non-essential). We know the
government is going to want to increase
the number of essential workers by a lot if
it gets new powers to do so
Essential Services
• When Treasury Board President Tony Clement
was recently which workers would be deemed
essential and whether workers could be deemed
essential part way through a labour dispute, he
refused to answer. He said that we would know
that answer only after the law is passed.
Parliament should have that answer before it
votes on the law and so should all Canadians.
Collective bargaining is a democratic right
Is it not better for contract
disputes to be decided by
arbitration?
• It is always better for the parties
themselves to freely negotiate the new
terms of a collective agreement. Labour
relations experts agree on this point.
• It is the workers and the managers who
have to live by the collective agreement so
it is better for them to decide what is in it.
Arbitration
• However, when that’s not possible,
arbitration is an alternative. But for
arbitration to work, it has to be fair. The
third party arbitrator has to be neutral and
knowledgeable. The problem is the federal
government is also proposing to change
the rules of arbitration.
What changes to arbitration is
the government making?
• First, they are going to make all arbitration
awards subject to review by the
chairperson of a new Public Service
Labour Relations Board, who is appointed
by the government. This makes the
process subject to political interference.
Changes continued
• Second, they are proposing to change the
criteria that arbitrators must now take into
account when they make a decision. Currently,
arbitrators are required by law to make the
award fair with respect to what other workers
have in the way of compensation. With this new
law, arbitrators will be required to base their
awards on only two things: (a) the government’s
budget policies, and (b) what is required to
attract competent people and retain them.
Changes
• Second, they are proposing to change the
criteria that arbitrators must now take into
account when they make a decision. Currently,
arbitrators are required by law to make the
award fair with respect to what other workers
have in the way of compensation. With this new
law, arbitrators will be required to base their
awards on only two things: (a) the government’s
budget policies, and (b) what is required to
attract competent people and retain them.
How many settlements are
achieved by arbitration now
under the PSLRA?
• Under the current law, bargaining agents
can choose between the arbitration route
and the conciliation/strike route.
• Currently PSAC has 15 bargaining units
(2,150 members) on the arbitration route
and 13 (141,219 members) on the
conciliation/strike route.
When was the last federal public
service strike for PSAC?
• The last PSAC strike of federal public service
workers was in 2004.
• Federal public service strikes are rare and rarely
prolonged.
• The government risks making strikes much
longer by limiting the number of workers on
strike. Strikes that have real impact do not drag
on.
Why is the right to strike
important?
• Free collective bargaining is an essential
democratic right and a cornerstone of effective
labour relations. This right was recognized in
2007 by the Supreme Court as a constitutional
right.
• Having the power to strike can lead to collective
agreement disputes being settled much more
quickly and it is an important part of our right to
free collective bargaining.
Right to Strike
• The employer has an enormous amount of
power at the bargaining table. Having the
right to go on strike provides unions with
the bargaining power required to achieve
fair settlements.
Doesn't the federal government already have the power to end a
strike? Did it not do that in the case of Air Canada or Canada
Post?
• Yes. The government has introduced special laws to
deal with specific labour disputes.
• In the case of Air Canada, this government went as far
as passing a law when it thought a strike might happen.
It forced Canada Post workers back to work even
though they were not on strike but rather locked out by
the Crown Corporation.
Rights
• Legal experts have criticized such
laws as a violation of democratic
rights.
• The International Labour Organization has
also ruled that such laws violate
international conventions that Canada has
signed.
What do you think you can do to stop
this bill given that the government has a
majority in Parliament?
• We will be asking the opposition parties to
separate out the proposed changes to
labour laws from the other measures set
out in the Budget Implementation Act.
• We will be mobilizing members and
citizens to pressure the government to
change its course.
What do you think you can do to stop
this bill given that the government has a
majority in Parliament?
• All of the federal public service unions are
to pursue every option and opportunity to
stop the proposed amendments. We have
the full backing of the labour movement in
Canada.
Are you going to work to rule or
take a general strike?
• We are exploring all of our options. The federal
government should not discount or
underestimate the support of federal public
service employees and the general public for fair
collective bargaining.
• Our members will be quick to understand the
implications of the federal government’s
proposed changes on their rights as employees
and as citizens.
Will you be launching a legal challenge
against the law if it is adopted?
• Our first priority is to get the proposed
labour changes removed from the
Omnibus Bill.
• If the Government of Canada wants to
avoid yet another legal challenge on labour
rights, it should withdraw its proposed
changes and consult with both unions and
employers.
Are you going to campaign for
the NDP?
• Our priority is to convince the government
to remove its proposed labour law
changes from the Budget Implementation
Act.
• We will speak to all Members of
Parliament about our concerns.
Are you going to campaign for
the NDP?
• We will work with all Members of
Parliament to win a fair, new and
genuinely modern labour relations
framework for federal public service
employees.
You say you want the same labour relations
regime that private sector workers have. What
changes would that mean?
• The collective bargaining rights of federal
public service employees are already
greatly restricted in comparison to private
sector workers and almost all other public
sector workers in Canada. The Budget
Implementation Act proposes to restrict
our rights even more.
You say you want the same labour relations
regime that private sector workers have. What
changes would that mean?
• Other workers have access to fair and impartial
arbitration processes to resolve contract
disputes. The government is proposing to
change the arbitration rules in its favour.
• Other labour laws allow for the employer and
union to negotiate which workers perform
essential services. If they cannot agree, an
impartial Board decides. The federal government
wants unilateral and exclusive control over
designations.
Are you saying that you would
agree to changes in labour law?
• We want an effective, streamlined labour
relations regime for federal public service
workers.
• We have a long-standing policy that calls for
federal public service workers to be covered
under the Canada Labour Code. We want a
modern labour code that extends the same
rights to federal public service workers the same
rights as private sector workers in federal
jurisdiction.
Are you saying that you would
agree to changes in labour law?
• We do not agree with the government’s
attempt to amend the Canada Labour
Code through the budget bill. The
government is proposing to take away
important health and safety protections.