Canadian HR Reporter is the national journal of human resource management. It features the latest workplace news, HR best practices, employment law commentary and tools and tips for employers to get the most out of their workforce.
Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/1389848
www.hrreporter.com 13 Longer deals, fewer clashes In looking at Statistics Canada numbers for major wage settlements the past year, there's been a significant reduction in the number of labour disputes during the pandemic, to near all-time lows, says Savage. The number of private sector agreements dropped from 230 in 2019 to 120 in 2020, and for the public sector, 147 to 87. "The second thing is that the contracts that have been negotiated tended to have longer durations. And so, pre-pandemic, the average duration of a collective agreement was closer to three years and post declaration of a state of emergency, that average has been pushed up close to four years. That is significant," he says. These two findings point to a "desire on the part of both employers and unions for stability in a period that's been characterized by incredible instab- ility," says Savage. Labour disputes continued during the pandemic, but their composition varied across the country, according to Bellemare. "Some jurisdictions, like in Quebec, you could do rallies as long as you had a mask and you kept your distance. Other topics of discussion may have been shunted aside, to the detriment of union members, says Savage. "A lot of the issues about things like pandemic pay or paid sick leave or time off and pay for quarantine… don't seem to have been addressed through the collective bargaining process, but rather through some informal arrangement," he says. "I wonder if it means a missed oppor- tunity for unions to try to secure broader benefit entitlements as part of the collective agreement process, because when you negotiate these things in an ad hoc manner, there's no lasting legacy in the collective agreement of entitlements. It's interesting, although it will likely take a little more time to see if unions turn their attention to those kinds of things." One silver lining that may have emerged from the dark clouds of the pandemic was a recognition of the importance of certain types of workers, says Sawyer, such as a cashier at a grocery store. "It really brought to the forefront how important these jobs are to the day-to-day lives of Canadians." provinces didn't, during the really hard period of the pandemic. It all depended on what the province or the health authorities were allowing," he says. "We've adapted and we've recreated some ways for members to rally, whether it be through Facebook or using some platform… but it's been a challenge." Looking ahead With an increased scrutiny and exposure while the pandemic raged on, unions suddenly provided a very popular voice, says Sawyer. "Our media exposure went up thou- sands of times. I can't quantify it, but we were getting media requests all the time… and then [we had] exposure to governments of all levels — federal, provincial and municipal — reaching out to us for advice." And once COVID recedes, many union leaders will revert to the old ways, says Bellemare. "Our conventions, our large gath- erings will still happen in-person, and some training will still happen in-person, but in the meantime, we've developed the capacity to [negotiate] using the [virtual] platform," he says. "The camaraderie of talking through things and maybe bringing that to the employer's attention — you lose some of that." Barry Sawyer, UFCW "When we come back from the pandemic, there's a chance that we get some sort of a hybrid in-between: have some communications using the plat- form and still have those in-person meetings, which is much more personal when you actually see people in real- time." Savage would agree. "I expect that into the future, online bargaining will stay with us, [but] it certainly won't be used universally." CHRR