Canadian Labour Reporter

APRIL 7, 2014 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 Union files legal challenge against Ottawa's Bill C-4 OTTAWA — The largest federal public sec- tor union has taken the first step in its legal challenge of Bill C-4, which it says has gutted the collective bargaining rights of its employees. On March 24, the Public Service Al- liance of Canada (PSAC) filed its con- stitutional challenge against the federal government's omnibus budget bill at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. In it, PSAC alleged that giving the em- ployer an arbitrary right to declare certain services "essential" is unconstitutional. As well, dispute resolution mechanisms — particularly arbitration — would be restricted. Whereas unions are free to choose between walking off the job or binding arbitration, Bill C-4 would limit those options. "The bill was drafted with no con- sultation with public sector bargain- ing agents and eliminates labour rights gained over the last 50 years, and se- verely undermines the ability of federal employees to negotiate on a fair playing field," PSAC said. Tabled last October, the budget bill introduced sweeping changes to fed- eral labour relations, such as giving the government the ability to declare its ser- vices as essential (and therefore limiting the workers' ability to walk off the job as a negotiating tactic). Under Bill C-4, the Public Service Labour Relations Act would also be amended to make it illegal to strike if 80 per cent or more of bar- gaining unit members are declared to be part of an essential service. As well, the legislation limits the use of arbitration for resolving disputes. At the end of 2013, federal public sec- tor unions pooled resources ahead of this year's scheduled round of collective bar- gaining with the Treasury Board to legally challenge Bill C-4. Suncor's random drug and alcohol testing violated workers' rights FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — The random drug and alcohol testing of employees at a Suncor site outside Fort McMurray, Alta., was found to violate the fundamen- tal rights of workers to privacy, respect and dignity in the workplace. "Random drug testing of workers that have done nothing wrong is a violation of their basic rights," said Roland Lefort, president of Unifor Local 707A. "We will work with Suncor to achieve the highest possible levels of workplace safety with education and prevention, not invasive medical procedures." Released on March 26, the ruling was the result of Unifor's grievance against Suncor's Oil Sands Operations after the company announced the unilateral im- plementation of random drug and alco- hol testing in 2012. Unifor was granted an injunction to block the random testing until the case could be heard by an arbi- tration panel. "In the safety sensitive world at Sun- cor's Oil Sands Operations, there is no excuse for working under the influence of alcohol or drugs," the board stated in its ruling. However, based on the evidence pro- vided, the board found Suncor did not have sufficient basis to justify random drug or alcohol testing. The board ruled the workplace lacked an "out-of-control" culture with respect to drugs and alcohol that would have justified the imposition of random testing. The board therefore found Suncor's imposition of a random drug and alcohol testing policy was an unreasonable exer- cise of management rights. Suncor's previously existing drug and alcohol policy — unaffected by the on- going litigation — includes post-incident and reasonable cause testing. "There is no evidence that random testing improves safety, which is why Unifor is committed to more reliable methods to keep our members safe on the job while respecting the dignity of our members," said Unifor national president Jerry Dias. 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. 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