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Another gift from the Harper Government<\/strong><\/p>\n Every time a new budget bill comes around lately, it\u2019s always chock-full of surprises\u2026 and not the good kind!<\/p>\n There are many things that are troubling about this particular\u00a0Budget Implementation Act<\/em>. We released a statement yesterday expressing our concern for the collective bargaining process, health and safety in the workplace and the rights of those who are victims of discrimination.<\/p>\n Collective bargaining rights under attack<\/strong><\/p>\n The government\u2019s bill has already\u00a0been described<\/a> as having \u201csurprise reforms aimed at weakening public service unions\u201d.<\/p>\n The government wants more control over the collective bargaining process; it wants to decide who can strike and who can\u2019t\u2026 mostly who can\u2019t!\u00a0From the Ottawa Citizen<\/a>\u2019s Kathryn May:<\/p>\n \u201cThe most worrisome reform revolves around the right to arbitration as a way to settle contract disputes. The government intends to only allow arbitration if both parties \u2014 Treasury Board and the unions \u2014 agree. If they don\u2019t agree, conciliation and a possible strike are the only other alternatives for unions to settle labour disputes. <\/em><\/p>\n At the same time, however, the government has reserved the \u201cexclusive\u201d right to decide which jobs will be designated \u2018essential\u2019 which means employees in those jobs can\u2019t strike. Employees in bargaining groups where the government has designated 80 per cent to be essential will be allowed to seek arbitration to settle impasses.\u201d <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Our union is outraged that the government would attempt to remove arbitration as a key option in the collective bargaining process. By restricting our options at the bargaining table, the government is demonstrating its contempt for a fair collective bargaining process.<\/p>\n Taking the teeth out of health and safety legislation<\/strong><\/p>\n Equally worrisome is the fact that this government is once again putting Canadian workers\u2019 lives at risk. If this bill sees royal assent, health and safety officers at the Labour Program will effectively be stripped of their power and authority, which will then be handed over to the minister.<\/p>\n Health and safety officers are responsible for enforcing Part II of the Canada Labour Cod<\/em>e, which applies to 10% of workplaces across the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cEvery single reference to a \u2018health and safety officer\u2019 is being replaced by \u2018the minister\u2019,\u201d explained National President Doug Marshall. \u201cFrom a political perspective, there\u2019s no longer any arm\u2019s length; this opens the door to politics interfering with enforcement of the Canada Labour Code<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Our members working as health and safety officers aren\u2019t surprised; the Labour Program has been tightening the shackles, making it increasingly difficult\u00a0for these members to carry out their regular duties and almost impossible to prosecute employers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe department has set it up so that health and safety officers have to ask for permission each time they travel to perform workplace safety inspection activity,\u201d said Marshall.<\/p>\n \u201cThey used to be able to do their work and put in their expense claims afterwards \u2013 but now, they have to predict all their expenses and get senior management approval in advance \u2013 there\u2019s a huge administrative burden being placed on people who are already dealing with serious safety complaints and worker fatality investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n A major change in the budget bill centres on refusal-to-work legislation. It\u2019s important to remember that there are countless men and women who paid the ultimate price for refusal-to-work legislation \u2013 and it\u2019s being gutted.<\/p>\n The government wants to change the definition of \u201cdanger\u201d to re-introduce the term \u201cimminent\u201d. This term had been removed decades ago and represents a huge set-back in terms of worker safety. This would dramatically affect health and safety officers\u2019 response. At present, a refusal to perform unsafe work generates an immediate intervention by a health and safety officer.<\/p>\n \u201cAdding the word imminent means that unless an unguarded saw blade is about to cut your arm off, no one\u2019s coming right away,\u201d said Marshall. \u201cYou\u2019re being asked to work with asbestos? Well that\u2019s not going to give you lung cancer in the next thirty seconds \u2013 it\u2019s not an imminent danger.\u201d<\/p>\n These are emergency situations; and\u00a0with budget cut-backs, health and safety officers already feel pressured to conduct these important investigations by phone\u2026. !<\/p>\n The bill also includes a bunch of downright bizarre changes, such as allowing for the labour code to be enforced electronically (which the Labour Program has interpreted to mean that carrying out “virtual investigations” will be accepted under the law\u2026) and the ability for the minister to delegate health and safety officers\u2019 powers to third parties or the provinces.<\/p>\n Taking away options for the victims of discrimination<\/strong><\/p>\n On the human rights front, the bill will completely eliminate the right of public service employees from filing discrimination complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, instead requiring them to go to the Public Service Labour Relations Board with discrimination issues. Although many discrimination cases already go to the Public Service Labour Relations Board, the right to file a human rights complaint, and the involvement of the Commission Human Rights Canada in some cases, has been very important to ensuring that our members have a full access to the rights and remedies available under the Canadian Human Rights Act<\/em>, as all other federal workers do.\u00a0 This is especially important in cases where discrimination affects many workers in a workplace.\u00a0 This change will shut that door permanently.<\/p>\n Additionally, the bill plans to merge the Public Service Staffing Tribunal with the Public Service Relations Board, which would then be renamed the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board.<\/p>\n And while we\u2019re on this government\u2019s favourite topic (renaming stuff for no apparent reason), the bill also plans to rename Human Resources and Skills Development Canada to the Department of Employment and Social Development.<\/p>\n This story is developing; the PSAC and the UNE are working together to meet this bill with direct action. \u00a0Please keep an eye on our website and the PSAC\u2019s website<\/a>. Better yet, follow us on Facebook<\/a> or Twitter<\/a> to get the latest breaking news. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Another gift from the Harper Government Every time a new budget bill comes around lately, it\u2019s always chock-full of surprises\u2026 and not the good kind! There are many things that are troubling about this particular\u00a0Budget Implementation Act. We released a statement yesterday expressing our concern for the collective bargaining process, health and safety in the … <\/p>\n