Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, currently wends its way through Parliament. The omnibus bill proposes changes to a list of legislation including the Canada Labour Code. I won’t offer an opinion about what these changes mean, but I do pay close attention to the reaction of organized labour. And it is not happy.
The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) claims that Bill C-39 will give the government the “broadest strike intervention powers in the G7.” According to Lily Chang, Secretary-Treasurer of the Congress, “If passed, Section 107 would give one minister extraordinary power to shut down a legal strike, with no parliamentary oversight and no one with the power to stop them.”
If we are to have a fully democratic society, all public places must be included and, to many citizens, the most important place is their workplace. If government is democratic, but the workplace remains autocratic, our liberty is incomplete.
The principle instrument of democracy in the workplace is the labour union. And unions perceive the right to strike as their principle instrument in assuring their democratic rights. Thus Ms. Chang’s ire.
If C-39 passes as is, the CLC intends to file a complaint with the International Labour Organization’s Committee on Freedom of Association. “We will take our case to the ILO and ask it to examine whether Canada is living up to the international labour standards it has committed to uphold,” says Ms. Chang.
The government claims the labour provisions in C-39 would strengthen collective bargaining and protect workers’ right to strike. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu insists they would reduce the government’s rate of intervention but admits they could also mean greater intervention when negotiations become prolonged, including the appointment of a “special mediator.”
Regardless of whether the bill would strengthen or erode workers’ rights, there is another consideration here. In the case of strikes or lockouts, other parties are affected and democracy demands they, too, deserve a say. A small businessperson whose very livelihood is threatened by a postal strike is likely to agree.
The Supreme Court has recognized the right to strike as part of the freedom of association protected by Section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Furthermore, the system mostly works. Over 95 percent of collective bargaining negotiations are settled at the bargaining table.
And, given the imbalance of power that favours employers, unions need a big stick as an equalizer of last resort. They claim the right to strike was critical in gaining such benefits as reasonable work hours, pensions, vacations, overtime pay and so on.
Nonetheless, a problem remains. The harm that strikes can do to third parties without them having any say in the process remains highly undemocratic.
Bill C-39 may very well be taken to court. This could lead to a greater discussion about how to achieve a process for establishing wages that is fair to workers, e.g. recognizes the power balance that favours employers, yet is also fair to other stakeholders.
The famous American educator John Dewey once said “The solution to the ills of democracy is more democracy,” a sentiment I agree with. Unions are critical to workplace democracy—that democracy needs to be enhanced to include the interests of everyone affected by it.