INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

IN CANADA
 CANADA

• Capital – Ottawa.
• Area - 9,984,670 sq km.
• Population - 34,362,000.
• GDP - $1.55 trillion.
• Currency - Canadian Dollar.
History of the Canadian Labour
Movement
 Early Canadian Unionism:
the 1800s
• The period of local unionism
 Earliest attempts to organize followed the
craft union model which was geographic
centered and involved small groups of
workers
 This period sought to protect wages for
skilled workers thus controlling their markets
 Canada's role as exporter increased the
demand for quality trades-people’s work
 Craft unionism deterred widespread unionism
because it did not encourage non skilled
workers or non trade organizations
 Early Canadian Unionism:
the 1800s
• Informal worker’s groups formed as early as
1827
• A philosophical change occurred so that unions
began to work on common goals – Nine-Hour
Movement
• There was virtually no law in Canada governing
industrial relations issues; British government
used criminal law to try to curtail union growth
• In 1871, Britain passed the Trades Union Act; a
Canadian version was later passed
 Early Canadian Unionism:
the 1800s
• The Catholic Church in Quebec was accused of
interfering with union organizing and
membership until the Bishops intervened and
smoothed the way
• Knights of Labor entered Canada in 1881 – first
international industrial union to do so
• Trades and Labour Congress (TLC) was
formed in 1883; it effectively lobbied for
legislative reform for all workers
 The Industrial Age: the Early 1900s

• Work evolved from rural-based to factory based

• With the prevalence of U.S. owned industries there
was an increase in the distance between the
employer and the worker – there was resentment by
the worker
• Federal Conciliation Act (1900) conferred the power
to appoint third-party interveners or commissions of
inquiry to help resolve labour disputes
• The railways saw union expansion which brought an
increase in strikes which encouraged the passage
of the Industrial Disputes Investigation Act in 1907
 The First World War

• The Canadian contribution to the war effort

made unionization more attractive to
Canadian workers
• While unionism was gaining favour, workers
felt that their concerns were not being
adequately addressed wherein their ability to
strike was limited by the expanded powers of
Industrial Disputes Investigation Act
 The First World War Era

• The Winnipeg General Strike (1919)

 Was the first extended, large-scale general
strike involving workers from many different
occupations and unions
 30,000 – 35,000 unionized and non-unionized
workers walked off their jobs
 A committee representing employers and all
three levels of government attempted to force
strikers back to work
 The First World War Era

• The Winnipeg General Strike (1919) (cont’d)

 Parliament passed emergency amendment to
the Immigration Act allowing for immediate
deportation of immigrants; also broadened the
Criminal Code allowing police to arrest on
basis of suspicion, rather than evidence
burden of proof was placed on the accused
 Strike ended June 25 but it did not end well
for unions
 The First World War Era

• In Quebec, at the end of the decade, unions

gained strength because of the influence of the
Catholic Church
• In 1921, so-called Catholic unions formed the
Confédération des travailleurs catholiques du
Canada (CTCC)
 The CTCC was involved in several high profile
strikes, at least one of which ended well for
mineworkers when they were successful in
having their demands met
 In 1961, it became the Confédération des
syndicats nationaux (CSN), which still exists
today
 After the War
• Canadian unions faced many difficulties after the
First World War, including:
 Widespread unemployment and wage cuts
 Disunity within the union movement
 A poor agricultural market, the U.S. stock market
crash (1929), and the subsequent Great
Depression
• In contrast, some positive developments occurred:
 Skilled workers were still needed and were able to
maintain unity
 “Industrial councils” were formed which included
less-skilled workers
 Communities of ethnic immigrants within
occupations created networks for support and
information
 After the War

• Snider vs. Toronto Electrical Commission

 This 1925 ruling by the British Privy Council
settled the question of federal and provincial
jurisdiction over labour relations
 Federal government’s jurisdiction over labour
relations extended only to federally regulated
industries
 Ruling hampered development of Canadian
unions
 After the War

• The Wagner Act (1935)

 U.S. legislation introduced by President Franklin
Roosevelt guaranteed three basic rights to U.S.
union members
– The right to organize
– The right to collective bargaining
– The right to strike without employer harassment
 Employers were forced to recognize a union that
had the support of the majority of workers
 Several provinces adopted similar legislation
 The Second World War

• WW II saw a boom in the Canadian economy with

employment increasing along with increased
production
• The jurisdiction of the Industrial Disputes
Investigation Act was expanded in 1939 to allow the
government increased control over industrial
relations
• There was a counter balance found in a strike vote
being required to make any strike legal but in return
the government introduced wage and price controls
• Unionization rates increased significantly during the
war but so did strike activity
 The Second World War

• In 1944, the federal government passed P.C. 1003

• It was modelled on the Wagner Act
• The significant features of P.C. 1003 were
compulsory bargaining and the right of employee
representatives to be recognized as certified agents
• Similar acts were passed by Quebec and B.C.
 After the Second World War
• After the war there were fears of an economic
collapse but there were more safeguards established
by the government than were in place after WW I
• The “Rand Formula” was developed in 1945 –
automatic dues check-off
• Justice Ivan Rand decided union dues would be
automatically deducted from every worker’s pay
cheque, but that individuals would be allowed to opt
out of the union
• The Rand Formula was being used by 90 percent of
Canadian unions by 1950
• By 1950, nearly every province had a labour code
 After the Second World War

• The Asbestos Strike (1949)

 An illegal strike, supported by Catholic churches and the
Archbishop of Montreal
 Quebec Premier Duplessis sent armed police to
Asbestos; strikers responded by beating company
officials and dynamiting company property
 May: Strikers, incensed that the company had hired
replacement workers, attacked the mines and the police;
over 200 were arrested
 June: A settlement was negotiated
 Served notice to the world that the Catholic unions were
no less militant than their secular counterparts
 Marked the end of the formal relationship between the
Catholic Church and the Quebec union movement
 The 1950s and 1960s

• Period of growth and development for unions and

was remarkably free from labour conflict
• The TLC and CCL merged in 1956 to create the
Canadian Labour Congress (CLC); the CLC affiliated
with the Quebec Federation of Labour (QFL)
• The predominantly international unions became
increasingly bureaucratized and centralized
• Early 1960s saw extensive public sector union
organizing but private sector wages and conditions
were superior
• Ottawa passed the Public Service Staff Relations Act
in 1965
 The 1950s and 1960s

• During the same period, para-public sector

workers also organized on a large scale
• Some joined existing public-sector unions;
others joined the Canadian Union of Public
Employees (CUPE)
• Also during this period, changing technology
affected workplaces
 The 1970s and 1980s

• In the early 1970s unemployment and

inflation rose, coupled with the emergence of
markets external to North America
• Unions were blamed for inflation and lower
productivity
• 1975 saw wage and price controls imposed
(for a 3-year period) which resulted in
increased strike activity
• In 1982, the federal government suspended
public servants’ bargaining rights for 2 years
 The 1970s and 1980s

• Early 1980s Canadian economy experienced

 Increased interest rates to fight inflation
 Restricted social programs
• Politically, the election of a Conservative
government created a hostile atmosphere for
unions
• Legally, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
(1982) provided new guidelines for labour
relations
 The 1970s and 1980s

• Labour movement also saw internal dissent:

 The Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU)
presented an alternative to the CLC
 Construction unions broke away from the CLC
to form the Canadian Federation of Labour
(1982-1997)
 Canadian locals of the United Auto Workers
split from U.S. parent union to form the
Canadian Auto Workers
 The 1970s and 1980s

• The trend that developed toward Canadian

control of Canadian unions has continued to
the present day
• The demise of the CFL and the CCU has left
the CLC and the QFL and CNTU as the major
labour federations in Canada
 The 1990s and Beyond

• Liberalized international trade was the major

event of the 1990s, which includes the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of
1992 and Canada’s participation in worldwide
tariff reductions
• Some employers have used NAFTA to move
unionized jobs to regions with lower labour
costs and non-unionized workers
• Politically, the NDP, historically labour’s best
friend, declined in political clout
 The 1990s and Beyond

• Several large-scale labour disputes in last

few years
 NHL lockout in 2004-2005
 Aliant strike in 2004
 TELUS dispute in 2005
 CBC lockout in 2005
• Technology played a role in several of these
disputes and may be an increasingly
important factor in labour disputes in the
future
 The 1990s and Beyond

• Another development is the coordinated effort

to organize unions in Wal-Mart stores.
 Some certification applications have been
filed, but not all have been successful
• Another event which may be significant is the
fracturing of the American AFL-CIO labour
federation in 2005
 The 1990s and Beyond

• The future can be viewed negatively or

positively for unions
 Negative perspective
– Internationalization, the slow decline in
unionization rates, and the decline of the NDP
could suggest further erosion of unions’ power
 Positive Perspective
– The relative strength of Canadian unions
compared to those in the U.S. and the history
of adaptability of the Canadian system suggest
that the system will continue
•Thank u…….