Labor & Employment Law

Labour relations is all about your point of view

By Michael Fitzgibbon

The Fraser Institute has released its 2009 edition of Labour Relations Laws in Canada and the United States - An Empirical Comparison and it is sure to generate some healthy debate.  Here's the blurb about the study and the perspective:

"This study is the third installment of a long-term project to evaluate the extent to which labour relations laws bring flexibility to the labour market while balancing the needs of employers, employees, and unions. Balanced labour laws are crucial in creating and maintaining an environment that encourages productive economic activity. Labour relations laws inhibit the proper functioning of a labour market and thus reduce its performance when they favour one group over another or are overly prescriptive through the imposition of resolutions to labour disputes rather than fostering negotiation among employers, employees, and unions. Empirical evidence from around the world indicates that jurisdictions with flexible labour markets have more productive labour markets (higher job creation rates, lower unemployment, and higher incomes) which produce a higher standard of living."

The general conclusion of this study is that:

"Overall the trend is clear. US states tend to have balanced labour relations laws focused on providing workers and employers with choice and flexibility. Canadian jurisdictions, on the other hand, generally maintain much more biased and prescriptive labour relations laws."

Whether you accept this conclusion depends, in part, on your own definition of balance and your particular view of the world.  There are many who would not want to emulate US labour laws and would see them as favouring one side over the other - again, it depends on your point of view. 

For example, this blog post from the President of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour comes at it from a different perspective. 

The debate about balance in labour relations is one that seems irreconcilable.  We see labour laws used as part of the platform of most political parties where they propose to "right the ship" by bringing their view of balance to labour relations. 

As an example, when the NDP came to power in Ontario in the early 1990's  they did so on a platform of labour relations reform.  They quickly re-wrote the Labour Relations Act to, arguably, make it easier for employees to organize and, some would argue, tilt the balance in favour of labour and the unions.  When the NDP lost power to the Conservatives who successfully campaigned on the platform of the "common sense revolution", they repealed the NDP's reforms (Bill 7) in favour of "balance" through free choice.  Some argued that this unjustifiably shifted the balance too far in favour of the employer.  Then the Liberals beat out the Conservative and they take the opportunity to implement their view of balanced labour relations by re-pealing some of the Conservative government's reforms.

Who's right and who's wrong?  In the end, and like in so many areas in life, it depends on your perspective.

Full post as published by Thoughts from a Management Lawyer on September 01, 2009 (boomark / email).