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

Test your knowledge on public-sector labour relations and the future of unions, as covered in Weeks 11 and 12 of the Industrial Relations course. This quiz will assess your understanding of key concepts and factors affecting labour unions in the public sector.