On December 9, USJE National President David Neufeld testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) in Ottawa regarding the definition of “work” and the use of section 107 in the Canada Labour Code.
Other witnesses at the Committee included the Canadian Chamber of Commerce as well as representatives from the federally Regulated Employers in Transportation and Communications, in addition to key testimony from the Airline Division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and Pedro Antunes, Chief Economist of The Conference Board of Canada
President Neufeld appeared at the committee alongside David-Alexandre Leblanc, Assistant Director, Negotiations Section from the Public Service Alliance of Canada who provided technical expertise on behalf of PSAC.
While a small number of other labour unions have been invited to the committee, all invitations to appear to testify are determined by the Members of Parliament themselves. Given USJE’s efforts to build strong relationships across party lines, the invitation to appear emerged because of the active working relationship USJE has with MPs on this parliamentary committee.
USJE worked collaboratively with PSAC to present information that reflects the analysis that PSAC has been sharing with its members, and federal decision makers.
President Neufeld provided a 5-minute opening statement, and fielded multiple questions from MPs throughout the hour. Both Mr. Neufeld and Mr. Leblanc emphasized how the use of section 107 under the Labour Code has been utilized in recent years to short circuit, if not wholly undermine, the collective bargaining process.
They also responded to inquiries by MPs on how the overuse of section 107 has adversely affected the collective bargaining process, and the good faith approach expected from both the employer and labour unions.
President Neufeld emphasized that the recent strike by Air Canada flight attendants has clearly brought to the forefront how an anachronistic provision in the Canada Labour Code is being increasingly mis-utilized, and has unfortunately had the effect of pre-empting any progress that could be achieved, at the bargaining table. Mr. Neufeld was a strong voice for labour unions at the Committee and urged the current government to enable the bargaining process to play out as intended, recognizing that strikes are the absolute last resort.
While only a small percentage of USJE’s members would be affected by Section 107, USJE was pleased to represent the interests of all of the members within PSAC given the broader implications for the 173 bargaining units and nearly 13,000 members represented by PSAC that are covered by the Canada Labour Code, as well as for the collective bargaining rights of workers across the country.
In fact, President Neufeld noted that, in just the past two years, the federal government has used section 107 eight times, often forcing workers off the picket lines days or even hours after the work stoppage began. This is why USJE is joining the call from PSAC and other unions to abolish section 107 from the Canadian Labour Code.
USJE NATIONAL PRESIDENT DAVID NEUFELD’S TESTIMONY
My name is David Neufeld. I’m the National President of the Union of Safety and Justice Employees and I am pleased to be here as part of your study on the definition of “work” and the use of section 107 in the Canada Labour Code.
I am joined today by David-Alexandre Leblanc, Assistant Director of Negotiations and Research Branch at the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
USJE is one of several component unions of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. PSAC represents nearly 240,000 workers who live and work in every province and territory in Canada.
USJE represents just over 19,000 members in 18 federal departments across this country. USJE members also belong to the PSAC, which acts as our members’ bargaining agent.
USJE members fall under the mandate of the departments of Public Safety and Justice.
USJE’s two largest departments are the Correctional Service Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
USJE members belong to a diverse variety of occupational groups within the federal public service. This includes administrative services, general labour and trades, hospital services, data processing, the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders in the federal correctional system and they form the operational backbone of the RCMP.
I would like to state off the top that only certain sections of the Canada Labour Code apply to the work of USJE members, and therefore we would not be affected by a Section 107 order.
However, this issue does have broader implications for the 173 bargaining units and nearly 13,000 members represented by PSAC that are covered by the Canada Labour Code, as well as for the collective bargaining rights of workers across the country.
Let’s be clear, no one takes the decision to go on strike lightly. Workers are fully aware of the implications of withholding their labour, and the very real impact it willhave on their livelihoods, their families and their communities.
Strikes are seen as a last resort and are only taken after union members come to the decision that no further progress can be made at the bargaining table.
A strike is considered to be the most powerful lever available to workers to maintain a balance of power with their employer, and it is vitally important that this constitutionally recognized right be respected.
That’s why the sudden increase in the use of section 107 is concerning. Although section 107 has been in existence since 1984, it was rarely used. However, in just the past two years, the federal government has used section 107 eight times, often forcing workers off the picket lines days or even hours after the work stoppage began.
This alarming trend undermines workers’ constitutional right to strike and is raising real concern that employers in federally regulated sectors will not meaningfully engage in the bargaining process, knowing the federal government will intervene to end a work stoppage. In fact, we are seeing employers proactively request the federal government to use its powers under section 107 even before workers have gone on strike.
We believe that the federal government has recently been implementing its powers under section 107 in a way that is placing unreasonable, and potentially unconstitutional, restrictions on the right of workers to strike and it is no longer fit for purpose.
It’s time for section 107 to be abolished from the Canada Labour Code.
Along with PSAC, we are calling for the government to either bring in its own legislation or support existing legislation that removes Section 107 from the Canada Labour Code. The NDP has already put forward legislation to scrap Section 107 in the form of bill C-247.
If the government truly believes that the best deals are made at the bargaining table, then they need to let bargaining happen without interfering in the process.
It can show its commitment protecting the constitutional rights of workers by repealing Section 107. Employers need to be sent a message—the government is not here to bail them out of difficult negotiations.