Striking Alberta Hospital Workers Ordered Back to Work
Abolish the Unlimited Powers of the Alberta Labour Relations Board
- Dougal MacDonald -
On
Monday, October 26, hospital workers, members of the Alberta Union of
Provincial Employees (AUPE), walked off the job. AUPE reports that
walkouts took place in close to 39 cities and towns and 49 workplaces
across Alberta. On Monday night, the Alberta Labour Relations Board
(ALRB) ordered the striking AUPE workers back to work, claiming that
the action contravened Alberta's Labour Relations Code.
The speed of the decision was in stark contrast to the long-drawn-out
procedures followed whenever an employee complaint is made.[1]
The Alberta Labour Relations Code perpetuates the
existence of the all-powerful ALRB. Under the Code, all labour disputes
are removed from the public courts and decided by the Board which is
composed of persons appointed by the government.
The aim of the ALRB is to streamline and speed up
settlement of labour disputes to try to ensure "industrial peace" so
the rich can continue to be paid without disruption. To this end, the
ALRB has been given sweeping, dictatorial powers. It can conduct
inquiries and hearings, issue orders and directives, make rules,
determine which unions
shall represent which workers, decide when a collective agreement is in
effect, demand the production of records and documents, require
statements to be furnished, enter and inspect union premises, question
employees, restrict picketing, levy fines, decertify unions, etc. The
ALRB is almost like a legislative body which makes up its own rules as
it
goes along.
It
is said that the 45-member ALRB is neutral and "fair" to the workers
because it includes trade unionists (including some from AUPE).
However, the union representatives on the ALRB have no independence and
can only apply the statutes of the Code. They have no power to make or
amend any of the legislation to make it favourable to the workers. The
anti-worker Bill 32, the so-called Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act, 2020
removed the discretionary power of the ALRB with regard to the court
filing of an order made with regards to an “illegal strike or
lockout.” The Board must now file the order with the Court on the
request of a Party, which in this case would be Alberta Health
Services. On filing, the order is enforceable as a judgment or order of
the Court, which means that failure to comply with the order can be
considered contempt of court.
An objective analysis of Alberta's Labour Relations Code
reaffirms workers cannot rely on legislation or government boards to
serve their interests. The Code illustrates that the employers have the
entire power of the state on their side while the workers' only weapon
is the force of their organized numbers as was seen in their actions on
October 26. The government may have prevailed in imposing its "rule of
law" through the decision of the labour board which automatically
becomes a decision of the courts. But the government scored no win
in the court of public opinion. Across Alberta widespread support and
solidarity is being expressed for the hospital workers. People are
speaking out to denounce the government and saying that it is utterly
contemptible to use the pandemic as a pretext to launch these attacks
on workers. The
workers must build their own powerful opposition based on their own
thinking, perspective, and program in order to defend their own rights
and the rights of all.
Note1.
For example in May 2020 United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local
401 asked that the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) hold an
emergency hearing and requested "interim relief," pointing to the
irreparable harm if workers at Cargill were required to return to work
without their union being able to determine if they could do so safely.
WF pointed out at the time:
“It is difficult to imagine a
situation more fraught with the danger of irreparable harm, with half
of the workers already positive for COVID-19, the death of a worker and
close contact, and others who are seriously ill in hospital, some in
intensive care. Despite the clear urgency of the matter and where 85
per cent of the workers had indicated that they felt it was unsafe to
work, the ALRB set the hearing date for May 7, three days after the
plant was to reopen, and appointed a mediator to meet with the parties
over the weekend.” (Workers’ Forum, May 7 2020)
This article was published in
Number 74 - October 29, 2020
Article Link:
Striking Alberta Hospital Workers Ordered Back to Work: Abolish the Unlimited Powers of the Alberta Labour Relations Board - Dougal MacDonald
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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