REGINA – Representatives of organized labour on the advisory committee appointed by the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, the Honourable Don Morgan, are urging the Government of Saskatchewan to place Bill 85 on a much longer legislative track and not to rush passage of the proposed Saskatchewan Employment Act through the spring session of the Legislative Assembly.
“At the outset of the Government’s announcement of the labour legislation review in March 2012 trade unionists in Saskatchewan expressed concerns with the far-reaching scope of the project as well as the timeframe allowed for consideration and consultation in connection with the laws that cover Saskatchewan wage earners and employers who fall under provincial jurisdiction,” said advisory committee member Hugh Wagner. “The proposed Saskatchewan Employment Act introduced in December 2012 is a sweeping re-write of our labour laws, including, but not limited to, the Labour Standards Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Health Labour Relations Reorganization Act, and the Trade Union Act.”
In the spirit of good faith, labour representatives on the Minister’s Advisory Committee refrained from commenting publicly or prematurely on Bill 85 in favour of conducting a rigorous analysis of the proposed Act. In the space of the two months or so since the Bill was introduced literally hundreds of hours of study and comparison have been carried out in the interests of due diligence.
“I think it is fair to say that the dialogue in the meetings of the Minister’s Advisory Committee in 2012 was informative, practical and respectful,” Wagner said. “I also think it is fair comment to say there was a remarkable degree of consensus, amongst representatives of labour and employers who participated, that the province’s existing labour legislation is functioning as intended and the rights of those affected should not be dramatically altered except where there is agreement for change.”
“We’ve spent a considerable amount of time studying the proposed Act and despite the apparent goodwill around the advisory committee table, Bill 85 constitutes a wholesale change to labour legislation in Saskatchewan,” said Wagner. “This legislation will re-set the employment table in ways that the people around the Minister’s advisory committee would not have predicted based on the dialogue.”
As a result of careful assessment of Bill 85, representatives of organized labour on the advisory committee have asked the Minister to agree to a detailed review to determine how the proposed Act will change existing legislation, the intent of the changes, how the rights of wage earners and stakeholders covered by the proposed Act will be altered and whether there are unintended consequences.
In the spirit of providing Saskatchewan workers and employers with information about our concerns we have set up a web site: www.fairwork.ca. The site is in its early stages, but it will quickly evolve into a source of information for anyone who wants to learn more about the proposed Act and examples of how the re-write of labour laws will affect them.
“We’ve proposed a much more extensive work plan and schedule of advisory committee meetings than contemplated by the two meetings scheduled before Bill 85 makes its way back on the agenda of the Legislative Assembly,” said Wagner. “There is no crisis to fix and no necessity to rush through with an omnibus bill that will likely govern workplace relations for a decade or more.”
If the proposed Saskatchewan Employment Act becomes the new consolidation of labour laws in the province, working people (particularly young workers, immigrant workers and other vulnerable workers) will suffer from a hasty watering down of our current labour standards which set the mandatory minimums for all Saskatchewan workers,” Wagner said. “Stable labour relations in all sectors run the risk of being thrown into turmoil. Thousands of represented workers stand to lose their rights to bargain collectively and be represented by the union of their choice. Litigation will become even more common place as collective bargaining becomes fragmented. Bargaining units will multiply and costs increase for employers, unions and the public due to duplication of bargaining.”
“As all of us strive to earn a living and build an inclusive, fair-minded Saskatchewan do we want chaotic labour relations or do we want a balanced and reasonable approach? As drafted, the proposed SEA will give us one thing, but not the other.”
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The SFL represents over 98,000 working people across the province in 37 affiliated unions.
