Private Member’s Bill C-263 Fails
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Members Of Parliament Reject Private Member’s Bill Banning The Use Of Replacement Workers
The Private Member’s Bill C-263, seeking to amend the Canada Labour Code to ban the use of replacement workers during a work stoppage, was rejected by Members of Parliament in the House of Commons
today.
The Honourable Joe Fontana, Minister of Labour and Housing, did not
support the private member’s bill, which would have introduced an ad hoc
amendment to Part I of the Canada Labour Code, the legislative framework that
governs labour relations in the federal private sector.
According to Fontana, the Bill contains serious flaws that would weaken workers’ rights within the collective bargaining system, rights that are currently in part I of the Labour
Code.
“The issue of replacement workers is very divisive within the labour
relations community. The current provisions of the Canada Labour Code, which
were introduced in 1999, seek to accommodate the competing interests of labour
and management, and represent a compromise coming out of the last review of
Part I of the Canada Labour Code,” indicated Minister Fontana.
Minister Fontana further stated: “As Minister of Labour, I have committed
to re-examining the issue but only in the context of a broader review of Part
I of the Canada Labour Code, which would involve extensive consultations with
all client groups, rather than the ad hoc approach taken with this bill.”
Part I (Industrial Relations) of the Canada Labour Code elaborates
procedures governing the collective bargaining process in the federal
jurisdiction, including dispute resolution through conciliation and mediation
as well as preventive mediation and grievance mediation.
Part I of the Canada Labour Code is administered jointly by the Labour Program, Human Resources and
Skills Development Canada and the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). The CIRB is an independent representational quasi-judicial tribunal. The CIRB has a mandate to interpret and apply the provisions
of Part I of the Canada Labour Code dealing with bargaining rights and unfair labour practices.
@ April 13, 2005