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New law tabled in legislature will implement landmark lawsuit provisions won last year by NBUPPE.
Fredericton (19 Feb. 2010) - The New Brunswick government, bowing to the courts, has introduced legislation to broaden job protection for thousands of part-time and casual public employees.
Bill 35, which amends the Public Service Labour Relations Act, was unveiled this week by Human Resources Minister Rick Brewer.
If passed, the bill will abolish the current six-month waiting period for casual and part-time workers to join a union, allowing them to join immediately.
It will also guarantee that they are paid at least 80% of the full-time rate for their job classification and end the current practice of repeated layoffs just before employees reach the six-month threshold.
As well, the bill will establish the right of recall, ending another abuse in which workers have been hired year after year as casuals or part-time employees without ever having any certainty that they would be able to return the following season.
Union members 'From day one'
"It brings the casual workers into the union on day one," Brewer said. "These casual employees for years didn't have any rights and no protection. This is a great day for the casual employees of the province of New Brunswick... The time was right to do it."
An estimated 6,000 to 8,000 employees will be affected. The new law is expected to come into effect on June 17.
The legislation is the result of a successful court challenge by public service unions in the province, including the New Brunswick Union of Public and Private Employees (NBUPPE/NUPGE), against the section of the New Brunswick Public Service Labour Relations Act which excluded casual employees from joining a union and collective bargaining. In June 2009, the province's Court of Queen’s Bench ruled that a section of the act was contrary to Section 2 (d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
12 months to comply
The court gave the government 12 months to amend its statutes accordingly and the government decided not to appeal the decision.
The court's ruling was based on the historic June 2007 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada that ruled collective bargaining is a constitutional human right protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Other public service casual employees have also benefitted from the Supreme Court ruling.
The government of Nova Scotia and the government of Ontario have also taken legislative action to allow previously excluded public service workers to form a union and bargain collectively.
In November 2007 Nova Scotia amended its Civil Service Act to allow casual employees to join existing NSGEU civil service bargaining units. In October 2008, the Ontario government amended legislation granting part-time workers in community colleges their longstanding quest for the right to unionize.
The only jurisdiction still denying public service casual employees the right to join a union and bargain collectively is the federal government.
The definition of employee in the Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA) excludes student, casual, and short-term workers from becoming union members and denies them access to the collective bargaining process. In February 2009 the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) filed a case at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice challenging the federal government’s definition as being contrary to the freedom of association guarantee under section 2(d) of the Charter.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
More information:
• Big victory for casual employees in New Brunswick