Bills 5 and 6 violate International Labour Organization Convention

New Saskatchewan laws weaken workers’ rights

Regina (12 June 2008) – The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has joined forces with the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union (SGEU/NUPGE) to file a formal complaint with the International Labour Organization (ILO) over two anti-labour bills passed by the Saskatchewan Party government of Premier Brad Wall. ILO Backgrounder - pdf

The complaint has been filed on behalf of SGEU. NUPGE represents 340,000-members across the country. SGEU is NUPGE's Saskatchewan component.

The ILO, a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Geneva, is responsible for formulating international labour standards in the form of Conventions. These minimum standards of basic labour rights cover freedom of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, the right to strike and other standards regulating conditions across the entire spectrum of work-related issues.

The ILO complaint is against two new labour laws passed in May by the Saskatchewan legislative assembly.

Bill 5, An Act respecting Essential Public Services provides for a definition of essential services so broad that practically any public service employee could be designated as an essential worker and therefore not eligible to exercise the right to strike. It is the most sweeping and heavy-handed essential services legislation in Canada.

Bill 6, An Act to amend the Trade Union Act, limits the rights of Saskatchewan’s workers. It reduces the ability of working people to join unions and to engage in collective bargaining. It also leaves workers with less protection against unfair practices from employers.

Statement of Evidence

In a Statement of Evidence accompanying the complaint, NUPGE alleges that the two pieces of legislation violate the basic principle of freedom of association as set out in ILO Convention No. 87 – Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize (1948) and the ILO’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998).

Convention No. 87 establishes the right of all workers to form and join unions of their own choosing without prior authorization. It also lays down a series of guarantees for the free functioning of organizations without interference by public authorities, including the right to engage in free collective bargaining.

The Declaration commits governments to "respect, to promote and to realize in good faith" the rights of workers and employers to freedom of association and the effective right to collective bargaining. The Declaration underlines that all member countries have an obligation to respect these fundamental principles.

These two international agreements have been ratified by Canada and all provincial governments, thus committing them to adhere to the international human rights standards contained in them.

The NUPGE complaint to the ILO points out that, taken together, Bills 5 and 6 constitute a major violation of workers’ freedom of association rights. “Because of these two pieces of legislation, Saskatchewan now has one of the worst legislative frameworks for labour relations in Canada," it states. "Without question, the new government of Saskatchewan has rolled back workers’ rights and created an unstable labour relations climate.”

Serious violation

The complaint alleges that the scope of Bill 5, the essential services law, amounts to a serious violation of international standards set by the ILO, which defines essential employees as those "who perform essential services in the strict sense of the term.”

It also adds: "Bill 5 for all intent and purposes takes away the right to strike for almost all public service workers in the province of Saskatchewan because it makes strikes in the public service workplaces totally ineffectual."

Regarding Bill 6, which amends the Trade Union Act, the complaint says the real intent of the law is to provide “greater opportunities for anti-union employers to discourage their employees from joining a union.” The legislation widens the right of employers to communicate with employees on any union-related issue at any point outside prescribed time periods for organizing drives and decertification drives.

The complaint is also critical of the government’s lack of a meaningful consultation process with unions prior to drafting the legislation. “When a government contemplates introducing legislation that alters the rights of working people and the ability of their union to function effectively on their behalf, surely it has an obligation to consult with the labour movement prior to the introduction of any such legislation,” it says.

The ILO places strong emphasis on the need for consultation and cooperation between governments and workers' organizations on any legislation affecting trade union rights.

In several previous rulings, the ILO has stated: “It is essential that the introduction of draft legislation affecting collective bargaining or conditions of employment should be preceded by full and detailed consultations with the appropriate organizations of workers and employers.”

Action requested

The union’s complaint concludes by asking the ILO to rule against the government of Saskatchewan for the following reasons:

• Proclaiming legislation designed to make it more difficult for workers to join unions, engage in free collective bargaining and exercise their right to strike;
• Denying the right to strike to the majority of public employees in Saskatchewan for all intent and purposes, by proclaiming essential services legislation which effectively makes strikes ineffective for those public employees;
• Failing to provide access to an independent arbitration mechanism for those public employees who will be so negatively impacted by essential services legislation that their ability to take effective strike action is greatly impeded; and
• Failing to participate in an open and extensive consultative process with representatives of workers’ organizations prior to introducing legislation that has a major negative impact on the rights of working people of Saskatchewan. NUPGE

More information:

For further information go to www.nupge.ca or contact:
Susan Dusel, SGEU Communications (306) 775-7249 or 1-800-667-5221 Ext. 249
Derek Fudge, NUPGE, Director of Policy Development (613) 797-3914
Backgrounder - Canada and the International Labour Organization - pdf