Union certification: Developing a level playing field ... - LabourWatch

Union certification: Developing a level playing field for labour relations in Quebeccases, “non-union representatives are less able,trained, expert, or more nervous than their unioncounterparts (and hence less likely to pressmanagement) and/or that management take lessseriously representatives who lack the potentialsanctions of trade unions.” 12Therefore, non-union employee representationcan become an efficient way of creatingdialogue between employees and employers.However, certain conditions need to be in place;for instance, management must be supportiveand genuine in its desire to include and considerworkers’ needs and complaints. Also, thesegroups must be backed up by a clear andinstitutionalized set of sanctions enforceablethrough industrial tribunals. Finally, newlegislation must be adopted to create a legalframework to support non-union employeerepresentation.Even though there are limits to theimmediate large-scale implementation of suchnon-union employee representation schemes,they should remain a very important area ofresearch in both academic and policy-makingcircles. Some studies are showing that non-unionrepresentation is a positive way of ensuring thatemployees have the freedom to choose whateverform of representation they desire in order toachieve a greater voice in the workplace.12. Michael Terry, “Systems of collective employee representation innon-union firms in the UK,” Industrial Relations Journal, Vol. 30,No. 1 (June 2003), pp. 16-30, on page 25.26 Montreal Economic Institute