Canadian Labour Reporter

7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2016 CANADIAN LABOUR REPORTER NEWS < Public pg. 1 Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). "This is a step in the right di- rection; however, we are deeply concerned that the federal Liberal government has not made a simi- lar commitment to repealing the Conservative government's Bill C-4." In January, the federal govern- ment pledged to repeal division 20 of Bill C-59, which empowered the government to bypass collective bargaining and unilaterally imple- ment a short-term disability and sick leave management system. In the interim, the government said it would not exercise the powers granted to it by the bill. This division was previously the subject of a constitutional chal- lenge and a motion for injunction from unions representing public service workers. According to the unions, the as- pect of C-59 in question interfered with the collective bargaining process and contravened workers' freedom of association under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Following the government's promise to repeal the bill, the union has put the challenge in abeyance. "Let's face it, the sick leave is- sue was the government's issue all along," said Isabelle Roy, general counsel for the Professional Insti- tute of Public Servants of Canada (PIPSC). "Those proposals were government priorities and we're now hoping we can focus on hav- ing real collective bargaining on all of those issues." In addition to pledging to repeal division 20 of Bill C-59, the gov- ernment has also tabled legislation to repeal bills C-377 and C-525. Bill C-377 imposed detailed re- porting requirements on unions' finances while C-525 made chang- es to the labour laws affecting unionization and decertification in federally regulated workplaces. A statement from Employment and Social Development Canada argued the bills were passed with- out the tripartite — employer, union and government — con- sultation process traditionally employed in labour relations law reform. "Our government recognizes that unions play an important role in protecting the rights of Cana- dian workers and in helping the middle class grow and prosper," said Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk in a statement. "That's why we're proud to be pursuing our commitment to help restore a fair and balanced approach to labour relations in Canada by re- pealing bills C-377 and C-525." Another bill introduced by the Conservative government — Bill C-4 — has come under fire. Ac- cording to unions, it undermines the constitutional rights of federal public service employees to collec- tively bargain and it gives govern- ment negotiators an unfair advan- tage at the bargaining table. "It essentially allows the em- ployer to hold a carte blanche in the determination of what ser- vices are essential, what's the level of service that's required to de- liver those essential services, how many and which employees are to be designated essential," Roy said. "No oversight by a labour board and very little consultation with unions went into arriving at that result." PIPSC also took issue with C-4's alteration of the factors consid- ered by an arbitration board if an impasse is reached during collec- tive bargaining. "One of those factors has been changed from the government's ability to pay to, essentially, the government's willingness to pay," she said. "We're saying that type of alternative to a strike is not really an impartial and fair method of dispute resolution." Bill C-4 is also subject to a con- stitutional challenge from unions. To address these concerns, the Liberal government has promised to hold consultations on the bill with federal partners. "Bill C-4 contained a number of amendments that made some significant changes to the federal public service labour relations regime," said Michael Gosselin, Treasury Board of Canada Sec- retariat's manager of media rela- tions, in a statement to Canadian Labour Reporter. "For example, Bill C-4 merged the Public Service Labour Rela- tions Board and the Public Service Staffing Tribunal into a new Public Service Labour Relations and Em- ployment Board. Organizational changes of this nature and other important considerations must be taken into account." According to Gosselin, a con- sultative process with federal partners — including bargaining agents — will be put into place at the earliest opportunity. But for the unions currently bargaining with the government, that may not be early enough. "Unfortunately, the govern- ment's commitment to date — which is to hold consultations on C-4 — doesn't allow us to walk away from this litigation," Roy said. "There is an impact on this cur- rent round of bargaining that re- mains unaddressed and we need to see either some quick fixes or some movement to recognize that the process that's been followed so far and that lies ahead has been im- paired by this legislation." Furthermore, Roy said, if unions are to engage in any consultation moving forward they would need some assurance that the process would lead to fruition. She named an independent panel or third- party report as an example. Benson agreed that the union's issues with Bill C-4 need to be ad- dressed before meaningful bar- gaining can take place. "We have made our position clear that the Conservative's Bill C-4 undermines fair process and is a violation of the constitutional rights of our members. Consulta- tion is not enough when funda- mental rights are under attack," she said. "Every round of bargaining is very critical to labour-manage- ment relations because what hap- pens at the bargaining table has such a significant impact on what happens in the workplace. This particular round of bargaining is important because it will set the parameters and tone for labour re- lations with the new government." Federal government to hold consultations on Bill C-4 Photo: PIPSC PIPSC — which campaigned against the Tories in the recent election — is part of a consitutional challenge against the Conservative-backed Bill C-4. The union is calling on the Liberal government to repeal the bill.

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