Essential services within collective bargaining
Preamble
WHEREAS, The Supreme Court of Canada in its ruling 2007 SCC 27, placed Collective Bargaining under the Charter, making it a Human Right; and
WHEREAS Public sector workers must not be treated as having less Human Rights then their counterparts in the private sector; and
WHEREAS, it is acknowledged that some workers need to be designated as " essential"
Operative
BE IT RESOLVED that "Essential services" be negotiated within a narrow and well defined scope and when that is not successfully negotiated, final offer selection be employed to determine the definition of "Essential"; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the arbitrator be mutually agreed upon; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that collective bargaining be encouraged as the best method of determining wages, benefits and working conditions for all free workers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all parties to the process act with respect and dignity no matter how competitive, or adversarial the process may become.
Background
Until the Supreme Court of Canada overturned its own ruling on Collective bargaining, courts in Canada did not consider it to be a Human Right, despite International conventions that Canada has signed. With the ruling, 2007 SCC 27, Collective Bargaining was placed under the umbrella and protection of our Charter of Rights. This ruling made Collective Bargaining a Human Right, at least for the public sector, but it follows that Human Rights are not only for one sector of society, so by default, it has to be extended to all.
However, there remains an attitude that Public Sector employees are somehow "owned" by their employer and that the employer can dictate working conditions, simply because it has the power of legislation.
Buying and selling of labour is the same as buying and selling any goods or services and governments will be judged by their electorate on their successes or failures on that front and using the power of legislation is contrary to the Charter.
That being said, there is the issue if essential services and this resolution offers a solution to those issues.
Collective Bargaining can be competitive, adversarial and even confrontational during the bargaining process, but once a contract is arrived at, disputes can be settled in a non disruptive manner.
Canada has a long history of promoting Human Rights, and this is one area that needs special attention to bring it up to speed.
Code
Proposal Type
Submitter Name
Party Commentary
This motion is consistent with Green Party policy on collective bargaining. It proposes a mechanism to determine what constitutes an essential service for public sector employees.
Preamble
WHEREAS, The Supreme Court of Canada in its ruling 2007 SCC 27, placed Collective Bargaining under the Charter, making it a Human Right; and
WHEREAS Public sector workers must not be treated as having less Human Rights then their counterparts in the private sector; and
WHEREAS, it is acknowledged that some workers need to be designated as " essential"
Operative
BE IT RESOLVED that "Essential services" be negotiated within a narrow and well defined scope and when that is not successfully negotiated, final offer selection be employed to determine the definition of "Essential"; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the arbitrator be mutually agreed upon; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that collective bargaining be encouraged as the best method of determining wages, benefits and working conditions for all free workers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all parties to the process act with respect and dignity no matter how competitive, or adversarial the process may become.
Sponsors
Background
Until the Supreme Court of Canada overturned its own ruling on Collective bargaining, courts in Canada did not consider it to be a Human Right, despite International conventions that Canada has signed. With the ruling, 2007 SCC 27, Collective Bargaining was placed under the umbrella and protection of our Charter of Rights. This ruling made Collective Bargaining a Human Right, at least for the public sector, but it follows that Human Rights are not only for one sector of society, so by default, it has to be extended to all.
However, there remains an attitude that Public Sector employees are somehow "owned" by their employer and that the employer can dictate working conditions, simply because it has the power of legislation.
Buying and selling of labour is the same as buying and selling any goods or services and governments will be judged by their electorate on their successes or failures on that front and using the power of legislation is contrary to the Charter.
That being said, there is the issue if essential services and this resolution offers a solution to those issues.
Collective Bargaining can be competitive, adversarial and even confrontational during the bargaining process, but once a contract is arrived at, disputes can be settled in a non disruptive manner.
Canada has a long history of promoting Human Rights, and this is one area that needs special attention to bring it up to speed.
Party Commentary
This motion is consistent with Green Party policy on collective bargaining. It proposes a mechanism to determine what constitutes an essential service for public sector employees.