January 7, 2011 - Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

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Protecting the Labour Rights of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in a Globalized World right to join a union and the role unions play in creating a better society by taking out advertisements in major U.S. Newspapers: “Protecting the right to a form union…is vital to promoting broadly shared economic prosperity, social justice and strong democracies.” 14 Labour laws and labour legislation should be about fairness, equity, balance and advancing the social and economic well being of its citizens. In Newfoundland and Labrador, there is much work to be done before our labour laws achieve those goals. The time has come to right the imbalance. This Inquiry has an incredible opportunity to make a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of working people in our province. We urge this Inquiry to be bold and consider how changes in our province’s labour legislation can ensure a more level playing field for the workers of Voisey’s Bay and for all those workers who still seek a union to represent them. Workers need access to an alternative dispute-setting mechanism in prolonged labour disputes. Rather than having to use the legislature to impose collective agreements in long disputes - although we sadly recognize that in this extraordinary circumstance may be necessary - the Federation advocates an alternative. There should be an ability for either side (rather than only by agreement by both parties) to send unresolved matters to binding arbitration after a period of time on strike and after both sides have bargained in good faith, but failed to reach a settlement. Binding arbitration in the private sector will unlikely result in substantial gains for working people, but it will at least help prevent long disputes and may “encourage” a multinational corporation the size of Vale to actually bargain with its employees, rather than “starve them out” on a picket line. As a labour movement we are extremely concerned about the growing use of scab/replacement labour by large multinational employers in our province. 14 Accessed from: http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/upload/d10_washpost.pdf Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour Page 47
Protecting the Labour Rights of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in a Globalized World The last three labour disputes where scab labour was used in our province involved large international firms. Other employers, certainly not all, see these actions (and government’s inaction in dealing with it) and they are emboldened. This makes for a very volatile labour relations climate, prolonged strikes and confrontational picket lines. It damages the collective bargaining process and poisons the workplace. Just as importantly it undermines workers’ right to good faith collective bargaining. Perhaps having an alternative dispute setting mechanism in place would also discourage big employers from taking such extreme strike-breaking tactics. We need labour laws that fit the times - that fit the economic realities faced by working people struggling to make gains or as is the case in recent times to hang on to what they have. The introduction of the formal regime of collective bargaining, the right to strike, minimum wages and occupational, health and safety laws were all accomplished because of the struggles of the labour movement in a move towards righting the imbalance between workers and their employers. Today that challenge is made greater because of the role multinationals play in our communities. Simply, globalization has fundamentally changed labour/industrial relations. If we are to build a more inclusive and equitable society, progressive labour legislation is an essential ingredient. If we are to share the wealth from our resources so citizens truly benefit, then unions need to be able to do what we do best – lift people out of poverty, enhance economic and social well-being and act as an agent of wealth sharing. Unions can’t do this, we can not push back against all that corporate power, without a strong and effective set of laws that ensure labour rights truly are human rights. Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour Page 48
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January 7, 2011 - Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

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