Manitoba Government's Anti-Labour Legislation
Bill 16 Targets Workers and Their Defence Organizations
The Manitoba Federation of Labour, labour law firms and public and
private sector unions have all denounced the anti-labour legislation
introduced by the Pallister government, in particular Bill 16, the Labour Relations Amendment Act,
for its aim of legalizing the denial of workers' rights. National Union
of Public and General
Employees (NUPGE) President Larry Brown pointed out that "Bill 16 is
particularly offensive in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as
frontline workers are risking their lives to provide crucial public
services to Manitobans." In a November 27 press release, the
Public Service Alliance of Canada notes that "Premier Brian Pallister
is
taking a page out of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's book, who makes
undermining workers' labour rights practically his full-time job."
The Manitoba Conservative government introduced 33 pieces of
legislation on October 14, several of which amend labour legislation.
The most significant is Bill 16, the Labour Relations Amendment Act,
which would make significant changes, all designed to weaken and
hamstring workers' organizations and make it easier for
employers and the state to interfere with workers' right to organize
collectively to defend their interests. Almost all the new bills
introduced on October 14, with the exception of those that dealt with
measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic, have not been passed or even
debated in the legislature as of December 4.
Bill 16 is part of the restructuring of state arrangements by
neo-liberal forces at the provincial and federal levels designed to
facilitate schemes to pay the rich and to dismantle existing
arrangements that are considered an obstacle to their unfettered power.
To cover up that intent legislation that diminishes protection of
workers' rights and
weakens their collectives is couched in the language of "choice" and
"protection." The Pallister Conservatives, like every other cartel
party, claims that because they were elected they have a mandate to do
whatever they please and call it the will of the people. Government
House Leader Kelvin Goertzen told the media: "Our government was
entrusted by Manitobans with the largest back-to-back majorities in
over 100 years and our legislative agenda supports our mandate to
protect Manitobans."
Bill 16 "amends" the Manitoba Labour Relations Act by introducing
changes that give more power to employers and the state itself to
interfere in the affairs of workers' organizations, make it more
difficult for workers to organize themselves collectively, and gives
more power to employers to dictate working conditions and to act as
judge, jury
and executioner with the power to fire workers for what the employer
deems inappropriate activity during a strike. Bill 16 has many features
similar to the anti-labour legislation of the Kenney government in
Alberta and legislation passed at the federal level by the Harper
Conservatives.
Highlights of Bill 16
- Employers will be able to fire workers for actions during a
strike, replacing the current restriction that workers could only be
fired if convicted of a criminal offence;
- Before a vote for union certification can be held, the Labour
Relations Board must be satisfied that the union applying for
certification has the support, through signed cards and a vote by
secret ballot, of 40 per cent of the "anticipated
workforce" (currently 40 per cent of the actual workforce). There
is no definition of "anticipated" but it would certainly impact seasonal work like
construction sites. If the board
determines that the union does not have the support of 40 per cent of
the "anticipated workforce" it can delay the vote or dismiss the
certification application. This would also allow employers in many
workplaces to argue that COVID-19 has made the current workforce far
less than the "anticipated workforce";
- Lowers the percentage of support required for a vote to be held for
workers to change unions from 45 per cent to 40 per cent;
- Lowers the percentage of support required for a vote on decertification of a union from 50 per cent to 40 per cent;
- Completely eliminates the requirement for an employer to give any
notice, with 90 days currently required, of technological changes that
would affect a significant number of workers;
- Eliminates the requirement that an employer that has purchased a
business keep the workers, their union and their collective agreement
if the board is satisfied that the "character of the business is
substantially changed";
- Removes the automatic involvement of the board in settling a first
collective agreement through arbitration, making it conditional on the
board's determination of whether the party applying for arbitration had
bargained in good faith, and eliminates the current provision that the
board can arbitrate a subsequent collective agreement if a strike or
lockout has exceeded 60 days;
- Mandates that public sector unions have their financial statements
audited by an independent auditor and provide the audited financial
statements to members. This would expose the union's financial position
to employers. Similar legislation was passed by the Harper government
federally in 2015 and subsequently repealed, and has been passed by the
Kenney government in Alberta.
This government attack on workers and their collectives comes on the
heels of the defeat in the courts of the Pallister government's 2017
Bill 29, the Public Services Sustainability Act which would
have frozen public sector wages. In June 2020, Court of
Queen's Bench Justice Joan McKelvey ruled that Bill 29 violated
workers' charter rights and "left no room for a meaningful collective
bargaining process on issues crucial to union memberships."
This article was published in
Number 84 - December 15, 2020
Article Link:
Manitoba Government's Anti-Labour Legislation: Bill 16 Targets Workers and Their Defence Organizations
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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