Ch.19 Employment and Labour Relations Pt2 Flashcards
Labour Relations
Transition to unionized work environment is a major alteration in any business model
- Owners and managers negotiate with union:
-Terms of employment for unionized employees
-Restricted authority for management
-Binding principles for dispute settlement, discipline and seniority
If transition is mismanaged, can lead to extraordinary losses in production due to strikes or lockout
Collective-Bargaining Legislation
Federal and provincial labour relations laws:
Remove collective bargaining relationship from Common Law and deal with it administratively
Jurisdiction of administrative tribunal:
- Selection of a union as bargaining agent
- Negotiation of collective agreement
- Resolution of disputes relating to negotiations
Rights and duties of employer, union, and employees are also set out
Federal and provincial labour legislation
Controls labour unions and collective bargaining
Establishes labour relations board to administer law
Replaces use of economic power by unions and employers with an orderly process for:
- Selection of bargaining representative for employees
- Negotiation of collection agreements
- Use of strike or lockout prohibited or severely restricted
Certification process
- process under labour legislation whereby a trade union acquires bargaining rights and is designated as exclusive bargaining representative of a unit of employees’
Employees must establish someone to act on their behalf in negotiations with the employer
Employees can form their own group or call on one
Legislative process determines what amount of support required to have bargaining unit certified
Employer can voluntarily recognize the union, or fight
Union applies to labour relations board
Bargaining unit
group of employees of an employer represented by a trade union recognized or certified as their exclusive bargaining representative - scope of unit is important
Legislation sets out who is exempt and cannot be represented by union
The Negotiation Process
Process begins when certified union gives written notice to employer to begin bargaining
Upon receipt of notice:
Employee arranges to meet with union
Must bargain in good faith
If agreement reached:
Must be in writing
Signed by employer and union representatives
Once approved by employees, becomes binding for term specified in agreement (usually 3-5 years)
Third Party Intervention
Used when parties cannot reach an agreement
Assists parties by clarifying issues in dispute and taking active part in resolving conflict
Intervention can be in form of:
Conciliation
Mediation
Fact-finding
Only when third-party intervention fails are parties permitted to strike or lockout
Employers usually cannot alter work conditions
Strike
in a labour-relations setting, a cessation of work by a group of employees
Can also be a slowdown or concerted effort to restrict output
Lawful strikes – allowed when collective agreement not in effect and efforts to negotiate have failed
- All others strike are usually unlawful
Lockout
employer refused of employee entry into the workplace because employer unwilling to continue on terms of old collective agreement
Picketing
during lawful strikes and lockouts
Above and beyond just withholding services
Primary picketing
physical presence of persons at or near the premises of another
Officially fo repurpose of conveying information to third parties (suppliers, customers, public_, sometimes unofficially to delay, intimidate
Secondary picketing
picketing at other than the employer’s place of business (permitted if peaceful)
Compulsory Arbitration
Strike or lockout not available to all employee groups when negotiations fail
Essential services - hospitals, firefighting, police
Mandatory arbitration instead of strike/lockout:
Used to resolve issues that groups cannot settle
Used in final offers from the parties
Allows work to continue without interruption
Issues in dispute heard before an arbitration board
Parties bound by arbitrator’s decision
Less creative; more costly; needs reference points
Collective agreement
def: agreement in writing, made between employer and certified union
Contains the terms and conditions under which work is to be performed
Sets out the rights and duties of the employer, the employees, and the union
Common terms or clauses:
- Employer recognizes union as bargaining agent
- No strike or lockouts during term of agreement
- Dispute settlement by arbitration
Grievance procedure:
Collective agreements provide informal meetings between parties to style disputes (grievances) prior to arbitration
Involve progressively higher levels of management on both sides
Usually outlined as series of steps in collective agreement
After grievance procedure exhausted (and no settlement reached) - arbitration process invoked
Arbitration
- process for settlement of disputes whereby an impartial third party or board hears the dispute
Makes a decision binding on the parties
Used to determine grievances arising out of collective agreement, e.g. dismissal of employees
Law sets out arbitration process if not included in collective agreement
Any dispute arising out of:
- Interpretation, application or administration of collecting agreement s matter for arbitration
The Union-Member Relationship
Common clauses:
Closed shop clause
Union shop clause
Some jurisdictions have restrictions on refusal of membership or expelling members
Prevents arbitrary action by union against employees
Membership cannot be denied on the basis of race, creed, color, sex , nationality, place of origin, etc.
Rules of natural justice apply in dismissal of members
Fairly represent
duty of union to represent its members in a fair and impartial manner
Must act in good faith and in a non-arbitrary, non-discriminatory manner towards members and representation of members
Duty extends to services provided by union
Most common in the grievance procedure
Does not require a union to carry every grievance arbitration
