Canadian Labour Reporter

JANUARY 27, 2014 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 Union slams Ontario's collective bargaining bill for schools TORONTO — The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has come out swinging against the Ontario govern- ment's plan to overhaul the way it nego- tiates contracts in schools. The School Boards Collective Bargain- ing Act, otherwise known as Bill 122, passed second reading late last year, and should it become law, would create a two-tiered bargaining system. That means trustee associations and school boards (such as the Ontario Sec- ondary School Teachers' Federation) would join unions and the provincial gov- ernment at the bargaining table. Whereas school boards and unions would negoti- ate local issues, the government would negotiate province-wide provisions. Un- der this new centralized model, a collec- tive agreement could only be ratified if it had support from all three parties. CUPE vehemently opposed the legis- lation during a press conference on Jan. 13. The government's failure to honour a previous contract with CUPE has cost them support for Bill 122, according to the union. Last year, the now-repealed Bill 115 (which imposed labour contracts on public school teachers and limited their ability to strike) soured the relationship between staff and the government. "The government is producing in- equality in schools — the very opposite of what central agreements achieve," said Terri Preston, chair of CUPE's school board co-ordinating committee. "Support workers doing the same jobs, working just down the road from one another but employed by different boards, are receiv- ing differential treatment." But education minister Liz Sandals said the new legislation will streamline the collective bargaining process. "We developed this legislation after extensive consultations with our educa- tion partners," she said. "This legislation will help bring more clarity and consis- tency to future rounds of bargaining and allow us to move forward together." Should Bill 122 pass, it would take ef- fect early this year. Most existing collec- tive agreements for school staff expire in August 2014. Alberta's labour shortage not as bad as originally projected: Report CALGARY — Initial projections of an impending labour shortage in Alberta have been significantly reduced, ac- cording to a new report from the pro- vincial government. Released on Jan. 15, the Alberta Oc- cupational Demand and Supply Outlook indicated the projected worker shortage over the next decade has dropped from 114,000 to 96,000 workers. The new sta- tistics now forecast a shortage of 96,000 workers by 2023. Thomas Lukaszuk, minister of the newly-formed Ministry of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour, said the forecasted numbers set a baseline for his new de- partment by which it can determine what labour gaps need to be filled. "With this information, we can see what areas of our economy may face shortages and ensure we have a skilled workforce to help get our products to global markets for years to come," Lu- kaszuk said. For instance, the outlook has identi- fied the need for post-secondary educa- tion for engineering professions. The government cited Alberta's boom- ing youth workforce, which has shrunk the previous imbalance between labour supply and demand, as one major factor. As well, the lower shortage numbers can be attributed to high participation rates and new industry-led workforce strate- gies, such as the Alberta Forest Products Association's Work Wild program and the Wood Buffalo Retail Employer Network. Occupations facing the highest worker shortages include physicians, dentists, veterinarians, heavy equipment opera- tors, trades helpers and labourers and food and beverage service staff. FORMERLY CLV REPORTS Serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com Published weekly by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Subscription rate: $595 per year Customer Service Tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5106 carswell.customerrelations@thomson reuters.com Website: www.carswell.com Director, Carswell Media: Karen Lorimer Publisher: John Hobel Managing Editor: Todd Humber News Editor: Sabrina Nanji sabrina.nanji@thomsonreuters.com (416) 649-9348 News Editor: Liz Foster liz.foster@thomsonreuters.com (416) 298-5129 Marketing Co-ordinator: Travis Chan travis.chan@thomsonreuters.com (416) 609-5872 © 2014 Carswell, a division of Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice. If legal or other expert assistanceis required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. The analysis contained herein represents the opinion of the authors and should in no way be construed as being either official or unofficial policy of any governmental body. ISSN 0045-5113 Publications Registration 2089 Canadian Labour Reporter is part of the Canadian HR Reporter group of publications. Visit www.hrreporter.com for more information. canadian labour reporter Labour Briefs A look at labour news from across Canada. For regular news updates, visit Canadian Labour Reporter at www.labour-reporter.com

• Cover