COLLECTIVE BARGAINING - SOME FAQs

WHAT IS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING?

Collective bargaining is the process by which employers and trade unions voluntarily arrive at their own agreement regarding terms and conditions of employment. While free collective bargaining is basic to the Canadian labour relations system, the extent to which the process has been regulated is substantial, especially when compared with other countries.

WHO IS INVOLVED IN THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS?

The principal parties to a collective bargaining agreement are the union and the employer. It is no longer necessary for a union to strike in order to obtain recognition from the employer, for a system now prevails in the private sector which requires the employer to bargain in good faith with the union that has been certified by a labour board as the exclusive bargaining agent for the majority of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT?

Government involvement occurs in the bargaining process itself in that the union and the employer, while free to engage in a strike or lock-out, are required ( under the Ontario Labour Relations Act) to complete a conciliation process and comply with other requirements before they resort to such sanctions. Furthermore, an important ingredient of the legislative scheme in Canada is the prohibition of economic sanctions during the currency of a collective agreement, combined with a mandatory requirement that the parties submit grievances to binding third party arbitration.

DO ALL EMPLOYEES HAVE THE RIGHT TO STRIKE?

In some jurisdictions (including Ontario) the right to strike has been withdrawn from employees engaged in certain public services and interest arbitration has been substituted as a method of determining their wages and working conditions in the event that an impasse is reached between the parties during the negotiation of a collective agreement.

DOES THE LAW DEFINE WHAT CAN AND CANNOT BE INCLUDED INA COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT?

Legislative regulation extends not only to the process, but also the content of collective bargaining. Thus, certain provisions, such as those dealing with recognition of the union, are mandatory, while others, such as those which discriminate, are prohibited. Some clauses, such as those which purport to expand or contract the bargaining unit, may be permissible as subjects of voluntary bargaining, but may not be taken to impasse, i.e. form the basis for a strike or lockout.