New Brunswick is proposing legislative changes that labour leaders say will weaken rights for public service employees during labour disputes.
The province’s labour minister introduced amendments to the Public Service Labour Relations Act on Thursday.
It follows a 16-day strike by more than 20,000 CUPE New Brunswick members last fall that paralyzed the public school system.
“This act has become outdated and ineffective. We saw the impact it had on essential services during recent labour disputes,” Labour Minister Trevor Holder said in a news release.
What are the changes?
Proposed changes would require unions to give 72-hour notice before taking strike action, and lockouts by the employer would require 24 hours’ notice. Currently, no notice is required by either side.
Strike votes, which currently do not expire, would only be valid for one year. There would be no limit to the number of strike votes a union could take.
Employers would be able to use non-union workers to replace designated essential workers who are absent and could change the work schedules of essential workers during a strike or lockout.
The proposed changes would also allow for changes to designation levels later in the bargaining process;
Striking workers would have the ability to picket at their place of employment, which is not currently allowed.
The amendments would also update what an arbitrator must consider if both the union and employer agree to binding arbitration.
“These changes, which align with what we have already implemented with the Industrial Relations Act and the Essential Services in Nursing Homes Act, are intended to promote balance by ensuring bargaining units can continue to take action during a labour dispute while essential services are maintained,” said Holder.
The Public Service Labour Relations Act covers Parts I, II, III and IV of the public service. That includes the civil service, the public school system — including teachers, bus drivers and school district employees — health-care employees, and Crown corporations.
‘This is retaliation’: CUPE president
The president of CUPE New Brunswick is disappointed by the proposed changes brought forward Thursday.
Stephen Drost said he expects they will have a “significant impact” on labour relations going forward.
“Instead of trying to find solutions, we have a government that just rams through legislation and continues to take away the rights of workers,” Drost said in an interview.
The unions received a “very superficial” half-hour briefing about the changes earlier this week, Drost confirmed.
However, he said the province did not do any consultation as they were developing the proposed amendments.
“We would think that at a time when we’re trying to improve relations, the employer would have the decency to have meaningful consultations with the other stakeholders, in particular all of the unions that work for the province,” said Drost.
The union president claims the move is retaliation by the government in light of CUPE’s decision to launch strike action last fall.
“We know Mr. Higgs does not like unions. He’s made that very evidence since he’s been in government,” said Drost.
“This is 100 per cent tipping the balance in favour of the employer and taking away Charter rights that have been won by these people over the years.”
Drost said union members are studying the proposed changes to see what their options are going forward, which could include legal action.
“We’re not going to sit back and allow this to happen without trying to address it in one form or another,” he said.
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