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Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body
Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body
- 37. The Committee last examined this case, which concerns provisions of a statute (Colleges Collective Bargaining Act, RSO 1990, c. 15) that denied all public colleges’ part-time employees the right to join a union and engage in collective bargaining, at its March 2010 meeting [356th Report, approved by the Governing Body at its 307th Session,
- paras 40–42]. On that occasion, the Committee noted with satisfaction the Government’s indication that the Amended Colleges Collective Bargaining Act (CCBA) came into effect on 8 October 2008 (except for certain transitional provisions). According to the Government, the new legislation gave part-time and sessional faculty and part-time support staff at Ontario’s colleges the right to bargain collectively; established two new province-wide bargaining units for colleges (one for part-time and sessional faculty staff and one for part-time support staff) and a certification process to allow part-time employees to unionize and bargain collectively modelled on the process in place for other workers in Ontario who are covered by the Labour Relations Act (LRA), 1995; and included other reforms to modernize the collective bargaining process for the college sector to give the parties more ownership and control over the process as it exists in other sectors covered by the LRA.
- 38. In a communication dated 27 April 2010, the complainant – National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) – requests that the Committee reopen its examination of this case. The complainant alleges that, despite the amendments made to the CCBA, part-time workers employed by Ontario’s public colleges are still being denied their fundamental right to join unions and bargain collectively. The complainant argues that the amendments to the CCBA are rendered meaningless by other sections of the Act, which allow employers to prevent unions from representing part-time employees at the province’s 24 community colleges. Specifically, under the amended CCBA, 35 per cent of affected workers must sign union cards in order for the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) to order a vote. Under section 31 of the CCBA, the colleges are allowed to challenge the number of cards the union has signed if they suspect that the union has not signed enough cards, a privilege that employers have taken advantage of. To justify these challenges, employers must produce their own lists of the numbers of employees affected by the certification vote. The complainant alleges that employers “flood” these lists with employees who clearly would not be part of the union bargaining unit, resulting in mediation and litigation at the OLRB that can take months or even years. The complainant estimates that the colleges are spending approximately $5,000 per day on hearings, by which they are fighting the certification vote.
- 39. Furthermore, the complainant notes that union card-signing can take months, as Ontario’s 24 colleges are spread across the province. Because of this dispersal, the colleges can manipulate the timing of the workers’ contracts to limit the number of signed union cards. The complainant indicates that all the employer has to do is to make sure that those who signed union cards are not working when the union certification application is filled; under the CCBA, the signed cards of employees who are no longer working are not counted. The complainant acknowledges that the amended CCBA does allow part-time college workers to unionize, but argues that to date, it is completely failing in practice.
- 40. By a communication dated 8 October 2010, the Government of Canada forwards the reply of the Government of Ontario in this case. The latter recalls that the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act (CCBA) came into effect in October 2008 and gave part-time and sessional faculty and part-time support staff at Ontario’s colleges the right to bargain collectively. The Government explains that the CCBA initially creates two new bargaining units, one for part-time support staff and one for part-time academic staff at Ontario’s colleges. The Act also provides for a process to change, establish or eliminate bargaining units. The Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union has filed certification applications to represent both the part-time academic staff and part-time support staff units. In both cases, representation votes have been held and the ballot boxes have been sealed pending a decision by the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) concerning issues that remain in dispute between the parties. As the matter is before the OLRB, an independent quasi-judicial tribunal with expertise in labour relations, the Government of Ontario considers that it would be inappropriate for it to comment further on that case. It indicates, however, that the parties involved in the certification process for both part-time bargaining units are following the process outlined in the CCBA which is very similar to the process that applies in respect of most employees in Ontario. The Government trusts that the matter will be resolved soon.
- 41. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government and the complainant organization. In particular, the Committee notes that, according to the complainants, while the legislation in question grants part-time employees at Ontario’s colleges the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining, the amended Act also allegedly affords employers the opportunity to exploit procedural mechanisms which could substantially impede or altogether prevent the workers’ ability to utilize these rights, frustrating the legislative intent of the drafters of the Act. In this respect, the complainant refers to section 31 of the Act, which allows colleges to challenge the number of cards union members have signed, and explains that employers take advantage of this privilege, thereby delaying the certification process. The complainant also alleges that the colleges can manipulate the timing of the workers’ contracts so as to limit the number of signed union cards.
- 42. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union has filed certification applications to represent the both part-time academic staff and part-time support staff units and that, in both cases, representation votes have been held and that ballot boxes have been sealed pending a decision by the OLRB concerning issues that remain in dispute between the parties. The Committee regrets, however, that the Government provides no observations on the complainant’s allegations that mediation and costly litigation at the OLRB can take months or even years, as it considers it inappropriate to comment on the case while the matter is pending before the OLRB. Recalling the importance which it attaches to the maintenance of the harmonious development of labour relations and considering that the allegations, if they are true, may indeed hinder the collective bargaining rights of the workers in question, the Committee requests the Government to initiate consultations with the union concerned with the view to address the concerns raised by the complainant organization. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of such discussions as well as any decision taken by the OLRB on the matters currently pending before it.
