Industrial Relations Week 12 Quiz

Course Information

• Course title: Industrial Relations
• Course code: ADM3334
• Professor: Qian Zhang
• Week: 12
• Topic: Public-sector labour relations & the future of unions

Final Exam Information

• Format: 50 multiple choice questions
• Date: December 13
• Time: 7-9 pm
• Location: DMS1140

Course Schedule

• Oct 21: Union Organizing Drive and Certification (Chapter 6)
• Oct 28: The Collective Agreement (Chapter 7)
• Nov 4: Negotiation of the Collective Agreement (Chapter 8)
• Nov 11: Strikes, Lockouts and Contract Dispute Resolution (Chapter 9)
• Nov 18: Administration of the Collective Agreement (Chapter 10)
• Nov 25: Mock Arbitration Activity (In-Class)
• Dec 2: Public-Sector Labour Relations & The Future of Unions (Chapters 11 & 12)

Learning Objectives

• Identify the size and importance of the public sector
• Describe the distinctive features of labour relations in the public sector
• Discuss key factors affecting labour unions in Canada
• Briefly review Chapters 6-12

Public Sector

• Components:
  • People working directly for local, provincial, and federal governments
  • Individuals employed in public sector agencies (e.g., healthcare, social services, education)
  • Workers in government-owned businesses and Crown corporations
• Employment figures (2007-2011): Provided in the document
• Importance: Major portion of Canadian workforce, essential services (e.g., healthcare, education, police), >50% of union members in Canada (vs. 15% in US in 2018)
• Union Density:
  • Local Government: 61%
  • Provincial Government: 72%
  • Federal Government: 69%
  • Education: 72%
  • Health & Social Services: 76%
  • Overall Public Sector: 71%
  • Overall Workforce: 29%

Public vs. Private Sector Differences

• Employers: Political vs profit motive, fewer financial hardships during strikes, dual role as legislator and employer
• Employees: Higher proportion of professionals, white-collar, and female employees
• Policy and Legislation: Determination of bargaining units, scope of bargaining, variety of dispute resolution procedures

Right to Strike

• Arguments for public sector strikes
• Arguments against public sector strikes

Contract Dispute Resolution

• Four primary methods:
  • Unrestricted right-to-strike model
  • No-strike model (relies on interest arbitration)
  • Designated/controlled strike model
  • Back-to-work legislation

Unrestricted Strike Model

• Similar to the private sector
• Applicable to workers not essential to public safety (e.g., municipal clerks)
• Potential advantages: Increased likelihood of voluntary settlement, avoiding negotiation for designated employees.
• Potential disadvantages: Potential for service disruption, public dissatisfaction, possibility of back-to-work legislation.

Restricting the Right to Strike in Essential Services

• No consistent pattern of essential service designations across Canada.
• Ranking (most to least restricted): Police/firefighters, hospitals/medical care, utilities, transportation, municipal services, civil servants, teachers/education.

Conventional Interest Arbitration

• If parties can't reach settlement, an arbitrator issues a binding decision based on parties' arguments
• Decision becomes the new collective agreement
• Most common strike substitute in the Canadian public sector

No-Strike, Interest Arbitration

• Principle of voluntarism is violated
• Chilling effect on bargaining: Encourages extreme positions
• Lower settlement rate in direct negotiations
• Empirical evidence: Higher settlement rates in right-to-strike systems (90%) compared with conventional arbitration systems (65%-70%).
• Narcotic effect: Parties become reliant on arbitration, hindering necessary compromises

Pre-emptive Effect

• If arbitrator's award is predictable, it may induce voluntary settlements.
• Still violates voluntarism—arbitration pre-empts bargaining.
• No widely accepted principle for decisions; replicate rights to strike outcomes, match similar private sector employees, or consider equity standards for arbitration.

Impact of Interest Arbitration on Wage Settlements

• Evidence suggests 1.2% higher wage settlements in jurisdictions with arbitration compared to those with the right to strike.
• Employers may resist arbitration due to budgetary control concerns.

Designated or Controlled Strike Model

• Also known as partial strike or controlled strike.
• Some employees are designated as essential and cannot strike.
• Objective: Balance right to strike with need for essential services.
• Reaching agreement among diverse preferences and essential service designations can be difficult.

The Future of Unions (Alton Craig's Open-System IR Model)

• Model depicts the environment, actors, and processes involved in labor relations.
• Actors: Employers, unions, governments, other parties, labour boards, arbitrators.
• Processes: Union organizing, contract negotiation, interest arbitration, conciliation, mediation, strikes, lockouts, grievance processes, union-management committees, political activity, and legislation.
• Outputs: Collective agreements, strikes/lockouts, other results such as impact on productivity, job satisfaction and turnover.

Mid-Class Break

• 10 minutes