Political Action Update

 

There are currently two main political issues of concern to UA Local 179. One is Federal Private Members Bill C-377 an act to amend the Income Tax Act concerning Unions.  The second is the Saskatchewan Government is about to introduce a new Employment Code which is going to be a new law to replace the 15 current pieces of labour legislation which govern the province.

Bill C-377 as currently written would require unions to report all transactions of over $5,000 including benefits, pension trusts, salaries, expenses, pension payments.  This Bill is seen as an attack on Canadian Labour Unions with the major supporters of Bill C-377 being those in direct competition with unions such as the Merit Contractors, Labour Watch, CFIB and the like.  Those who support this bill argue that it is about making unions more transparent and accountable but we know that this is really about competition and weakening the union movement.  

Bill C-377 passed second reading in March of 2012 and was referred to the Finance Committee.  The Finance Committee held testimony on the bill on October 25^th and November 7^th 2012 and the Bill is still in committee. Many of the witnesses who presented to the committee stated many problems and concerns with the bill.  One of those presenters was the Federal Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddard who explained that this bill was deeply flawed in that it violated people’s privacy in a number of different ways.  Also presenting was Robert Blakely on behalf of the Canadian Building Trades Department of the AFL/CIO.  Blakely is a member of UA, he is a steamfitter out of Edmonton and also a lawyer.  Blakely argued that he found it troubling that only unions were being targeted in this bill when other professions such as lawyer’s also paid professional dues which were tax deductible and were not included in this legislation.   He further stated that this bill is about competition and not transparency and that is made clear by the fact that the Merit Contractors are the biggest supporter of this bill.

To see some of the footage from the Federal Finance Committee on Bill C-377 you can visit our youtube page which has video footage from four of the witnesses at https://www.youtube.com/user/UALOCAL179

If you want to send a message to the Finance Committee to tell them to put an end to this anti-union bill you can do so at a website set up by the Canadian Building Trades at www.workersbuildcanada.ca.

The Saskatchewan Government commissioned a review and consultation of all labour legislation in Saskatchewan in May of this year.  They indicated that they intend to take all 15 pieces of labour legislation that exist in Saskatchewan and replace them with one new Employment Code which they will introduce in the fall of 2012. They provided a 90 day period for individuals, businesses and organizations to make submissions to the consultation. 

UA Local 179 made a submission to the consultation where we argued that we do not understand why the Government would pursue wide reaching changes to labour legislation at a time when our industry has not seen a labour dispute in over 20 years.  We further contended that the Government needs to focus on trades training and apprenticeship and not changes to the labour legislation if they wish to be prepared to deal with the growing demand for skilled labour in the province. 

There were several submissions from businesses with some troubling suggestions for changes to labour legislation in the province including: requiring 75% of members to vote in favour of certification but only 50% plus one to vote in favour of decertification (Merit Contractors); Support to average work hours over a two week period so that a worker could be scheduled to work 60 hours one week and 20 hours the next and not receive overtime (Merit Contractors); Support for “Right to Work” Legislation which would allow members to opt out of paying union dues but still get all the benefits of unionized work (Graham Construction); Requiring workers to give 2 weeks notice to quit a job but only requiring 4 hours notice from employers to lay employees off (Ledcor);  and Removing workers’ right to refuse to work overtime (BHP Billiton, Construction Labour Relations Association of Saskatchewan).   The Saskatchewan Building Trades released a paper entitled Saskatchewan Employment Code: Taking the Low Road to Growth in which they publicly criticized these suggestions of business and highlighted some facts.  You can view this paper on the UA Local 179 website at http://www.ualocal179.ca/local_news.php?ID=96   

As of November 19, 2012 the Government has not introduced the new labour legislation, The Saskatchewan Employment Code.  However, on Friday, November 18, 2012 the Labour Minister Don Morgan released some of the details to a Saskatoon business luncheon and to the media.  In the November 19, 2012 Leaderpost it stated: "Even though the bill - titled The Saskatchewan Employment Act - won't be introduced until later this month, he (Morgan) told the luncheon crowd the province's unions will be in for some major changes, including new requirements to disclose exactly how they spend the dues they collect." The article further stated that Morgan indicated there will be alterations to the 40-hour work week and changes to the power unions have to impose fines on their membership. 

The Government has indicated this legislation will be introduced before the end of the fall legislative session which ends on December 6, 2012. 

For more information and updates on these two political issues watch our UA Local 179 website at www.ualocal179.ca and our UA Local 179 facebook page at www.facebook.com/ua179. 

Unemployed Workers Help Centre If you hear family, friends, neighbors', etc mentioning they are or someone they know is having issues with EI, you can tell them that there is an outfit, the UWHC, which is supported by your union that gives help to any worker having trouble with their EI claim. Check out the website by clicking the link below: http://www.unemployedworkerscentre.org/