09: Conflict Resolution: Grievances and Strikes

Let’s Make a Deal

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Bert Flint/Shutterstock

In the midst of all of the reporting on the pandemic crisis, there was some good news from the labour relations front. In Ontario, three of the four unions representing teachers announced that they had reached tentative collective bargaining agreements with the province.

As reported by Global News, both the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO) were able to negotiate revised working conditions. The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), representing its elementary and secondary school teachers, was able to reach a tentative agreement as noted in this news posting.

From a process perspective, once a tentative agreement is reached between the representatives of all parties, the details of the agreement must be voted on by their respective memberships in order for it to be ratified. Ratification means that the agreement is final, and the terms of the new collective agreement are in place for each of the unions and their employer. The OECTA membership announced the successful ratification of the revised terms as noted in this article. The ETFO and AEFO agreements are still pending.

Does this mean that the collective bargaining process is over?

Not yet.

In Ontario, public education for elementary and secondary schools are governed by numerous pieces of legislation. These include the Labour Relations Act, the Education Act, and the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014. Needless to say, teaching is a highly prescriptive and heavily regulated profession resulting in an occasionally complicated approach to labour relations.

Prior to the implementation of the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014, individual school boards would negotiate collective agreements with their local bargaining units, representing the teachers within their jurisdiction. As each agreement was reached, there was a tweak, or a better term negotiated, that caused a laddering effect from board to board. This resulted in inconsistent terms within agreements based on local or regional resources.

With the implementation of the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014, common items for all school boards pertaining to wages and working conditions are negotiated at the provincial level and implemented locally once ratified. As noted in the news articles, each school board will continue to negotiate with its local bargaining unit to address any outstanding issues that pertain to the local community.

At the beginning of April 2020, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) and the province renewed their talks at the bargaining table with a changed approach. The bargaining process between these two parties was particularly hostile and aggressive, resulting in limited progress towards any agreement. As noted in this news article, what forced a change between the two parties was the impact of the pandemic crisis.

With the province abandoning its use of flaming rhetoric, the hostile environment on both sides appears to be diminished. Presently, there appears to be a more open space that will allow the parties to focus on the issues that are important, using a calm and reasonable approach, in order to achieve a mutually satisfactory settlement.

No matter if it is local or provincial, the continued need to listen in any bargaining process is critical as a means to reach a peaceful settlement in these truly turbulent times.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Browse through different websites for teacher unions in Canada. What information is posted about the collective bargaining process and the union’s role? What information is available that identifies issues for local bargaining?
  2. If you were representing the province at the bargaining table with the teacher unions, which approach would work best for you? Aggressive or conciliatory? Explain your rationale.

Strike Processes in Play

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Gustavo Frazao/Shutterstock

If you live in Ontario, you may be aware of the current escalating labour dispute between the provincial government and three of the unions (ETFO, OSSTF, and OECTA) representing English elementary and secondary school teachers in the province. As of January 2020, it appears that negotiations at the bargaining table have stalled, the teacher unions have implemented a series of rotating strikes across the province, and the government has not offered any public statements about a possible resolution to this dispute being in sight.

What is common to all of the parties, at this point in time, is that they seem to be caught in a classically entrenched, positional struggle. This means that nobody is willing to make the first move out of their position, or stance, to get back to the bargaining table to negotiate a resolution. Instead of being focused on negotiations with each other, the parties are focusing on the process of escalation, in order to find leverage to use as a pressure tactic against one another.

From a labour relations process, this dispute is unfolding as it should be. How it may end, is explored by Global News in this recent video post and written analysis.

As noted by Global News, there are options which all of the involved parties—unions and government—need to consider as they try to find their way out of the current conflict.

Which option the parties choose to take will be determined by their need to either maintain a positional stance and keep the escalation of pressure mounting, or they may find a need to relieve that pressure and make a move out of position, back to the bargaining table to re-start negotiated discussions. Either approach will provide a resolution.

Continued escalation may result in prolonged strikes, back-to-work legislation, and/or an arbitrated decision that forces a resolution onto all of the parties. A negotiated settlement, however, means that the parties themselves must come up with solutions that they can all agree upon, and live with for the duration of a renewed collective agreement. In both approaches, the end result will be a resolution of the dispute.

The degree to which the parties will be satisfied with the results, and the means of resolution used to get there, will be entirely up to them, and the constituents that they serve.

Discussion Questions:

  1. If you were representing the government, would you prefer to have a negotiated settlement, or a settlement achieved through an arbitrated decision? Explain your rationale.
  2. What is the leverage that unions hope to achieve through the escalation of strike action?
  3. According to the article and video, what are the issues for each of the parties involved in this dispute?
  4. How would you propose to resolve this dispute? Explain your rationale.

Unlawful Strikes

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As Canadians, we have a reputation for being a polite, respectful, and peaceful society.

Most of the time, we are known for upholding the rule of law. We function, generally, within reasonably acceptable parameters which include compliance with civil legislation. This includes the need to follow the statutory regime that upholds and frames the rights provided under specific labour relations legislation. Even if there are public displays of labour-related problems or conflicts, these are typically narrow in focus and usually driven by legitimate and acceptable labour practices.

It is unusual, therefore, to read and hear about the recent unlawful actions taken by Unifor against General Motors in Canada. Last year, General Motors announced that it would be closing its Oshawa plant, which will result in a massive loss of jobs for its unionized workforce. In response to this devastating announcement, Unifor has implemented a series of strike-related actions which are prohibited because an existing collective agreement is in place.

When two parties (the employer and the union) negotiate and agree to the terms of a collective agreement, this includes language within the agreement that states there will be no strike or lockout for the duration of the contract.  When there is a violation of the contract by one of the parties, the remedy is to file a grievance in order to restore the terms of the collective agreement.  If the parties are unable to do this on their own, the alleged violation goes to the applicable labour relations board for third-party resolution.

In the case of Unifor and General Motors, it appears that the union purposefully entered into a series of actions which, from an outsider’s perspective, ought reasonably to be known as violating the collective agreement.

Click here to read about the illegal strike action taking place at General Motors.

It is no surprise, then, to read that the Ontario Labour Relations Board issued a ruling that declared the activities by Unifor as illegal and required the union (Unifor) to cease and desist in the promotion of illegal strike action.

Click here to read about the ruling issued by the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB).

Click here to read the decision.

Why would Unifor proceed in the manner that it did? Unifor is a significant and sophisticated entity that represents thousands of workers across the country. The decision to enter into illegal strike action is not one that any union would enter into lightly or on a whim. The leadership at Unifor would know that the outcome of such action would result, as it did, in the decision of the OLRB to go against them.

One of the statements in the article refers to the union’s perception that the employer (General Motors) had violated the collective agreement in the first place by issuing the notice of plant closure. This gives the impression of tit-for-tat negotiating strategy that belies the seriousness of the actions taken on the part of the union.

Perhaps this case shows us that, even though we are law-abiding Canadians, sometimes we do need to take a stand in order to take action against decisions that affect the well-being of us all.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why do you think Unifor made the decision to proceed with an unlawful strike?
  2. If you were representing the workers at General Motors, would you encourage unlawful strike action in this case? Explain your rationale.
  3. What impact does the decision from the OLRB have on continuing labour relations at General Motors?

Why Should Canada Post Employees Strike?

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Canada Post is in the news again.  The crown corporation is facing the potential of another labour disruption by its postal workers. Over the past 50 years, Canada Post has experienced approximately 20 work stoppages (strike or lockout) with the last action ending in arbitrated back-to-work legislation in 2011.  Due to this troubled labour history and the impact of the disruption of services to Canadians, the corporation has been declared an essential service. This means that the federal government can, once again, enact legislation that forces postal workers back to their jobs if there is a strike.

Global News provides us with a summary of the issues facing Canada Post and its workers at the bargaining table.

Forcing unionized employees back to work when they are exercising their reasonable and legitimate rights, is not something that governments implement lightly. Declaring Canada Post an essential service came as a result of the significant and direct financial impact on Canadians when the mail was not being delivered. In the not too distant past, thousands of Canadians were reliant on supplemental or basic incomes in the form of paper cheques which were issued by the federal government. When the mail was not being delivered, low-income and senior Canadians did not receive these cheques or the funds they needed in order to survive. While current technology has allowed for direct deposits and online banking, not all Canadians have access to these resources. In the event of a strike by postal workers, some Canadians may continue to be at risk, which may result in a repeat of back-to-work legislation in order to protect vulnerable Canadians.

Having said all of this, the impact of technology has also changed how Canadians use the services of Canada Post. Most Canadians do use electronic options such as e-mail and social media to order to communicate and share information.  The days of buying stamps in order to post a letter writing are dwindling quickly. Further, there are numerous delivery services available to Canadian consumers as alternatives to Canada Post, such as Fedex, Purolator, or UPS.

Why then would postal workers choose to go on strike in the face of legislative restrictions and an ever-decreasing amount of consumer demand?  As noted in the article, a strike vote does not necessarily mean that there will be a strike. A strike vote does send a clear message to the employer that the workers are serious about their demands and that they are willing to take the risks that come from the potential of strike action. Hopefully, both parties will see the benefit of continuing their discussions at the bargaining table rather than fighting it out through the picket line.

Time will tell how this particular set of negotiations works its way through to a successful conclusion.

In the meantime, it may be a good idea to check the mail, just in case.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How would a strike by Canada Post impact you as a customer?
  2. If you were negotiating for the union, what leverage do you have at the bargaining table and how would you use it?
  3. If you were negotiating for the employer, how far would you go to avoid strike action? What items would you offer to the Union in order to settle this contract?