Canadian Labour Reporter

teachers' association speaks out against nova scotia's Bill 100 HAliFAX — The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) recently spoke out against Nova Scotia's Bill 100, the University Accountability and Sustainabil- ity Act. Bill 100 would allow the provincial gov- ernment to suspend the right of university staff to strike, as well as the right of their unions to enforce certain aspects of their collective agreements when a university is seeking a financial "revitalization plan." According to CAUT, the bill would vio- late constitutional rights, compromise aca- demic freedom and undermine the inde- pendence of universities. CAUT represents 68,000 academic and general staff at 120 universities and colleges across Canada. "The Supreme Court of Canada has up- held the right to strike as constitutionally protected and an essential part of meaning- ful collective bargaining in Canada," said CAUT executive director David Robinson. "According to the court, equality in the bar- gaining process depends upon the right to strike. Bill 100 flies in the face of this by wip- ing out the right to strike and the right to enforce a collective agreement at the very moment when the employment security and working conditions of university em- ployees is at stake." According to CAUT, the right to strike and the right to enforce certain aspects of the collective agreement could be suspend- ed for more than a year after a university submits a financial revitalization plan. "Under the proposed legislation, unions have the opportunity to respond to draft plans, but with the right to strike removed, and the right to enforce existing collective agreements seriously curtailed, meaningful dialogue about the plan cannot really hap- pen," Robinson said. Bill 100 also imposes several mandates on the contents of the revitalization plans, something CAUT called an "unacceptable intrusion of government into the academic affairs of universities in Nova Scotia." steelworkers ratify contract with vale in sudbury, port colborne sudbury and port colborne, Ont. — The United Steelworkers (USW) locals 6500 and 6200 recently voted to accept a new collective agreement with Vale. The agreement — which covers produc- tion and maintenance employees in Sud- bury and Port Colborne — will take effect on June 1. The five-year agreement includes im- provements to wages, benefits and pen- sions. The deal also contains improvements to contract language. According to the employer, 76.7 per cent of members in Sudbury and 87 per cent of members in Port Colborne voted in favour of the new deal. "We are extremely pleased with the outcome," said Vale's lead negotiator Mitch Medina. "A new five-year agree- ment, delivered a month before the old contract expires, points to a maturing in our labour relations. By the time the new contract expires in 2020, we will have en- joyed an unprecedented full decade of la- bour peace." lAboUr brieFs 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2015 FOrmerly clv repOrts serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com published weekly by omson reuters canada ltd. subscription rate: $595 per year customer service tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5106 email: carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Website: www.carswell.com Director, carswell media Karen Lorimer publisher John Hobel Associate publisher/managing editor Todd Humber lead editor Sarah Dobson | (416) 649-7896 sarah.dobson@thomsonreuters.com news editor Sabrina Nanji | (416) 649-9348 sabrina.nanji@thomsonreuters.com news editor Liz Foster | (416) 298-5129 liz.foster@thomsonreuters.com marketing co-ordinator Keith Fulford | (416) 649-9585 keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com © 2015 Carswell, a division of omson 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. e 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. e analysis contained herein represents the opinion of the authors and should in no way be construed as being either offi cial or unoffi cial 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. Labour Reporter Canadian www.labourreporter.com Photo: (Reuters) lAboUr lens Migrant domestic workers attend a parade in Beirut to call for a domestic workers' union in the city. The workers also called for support for the rights of domestic workers throughout Lebanon.

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