Third Session -Thirty-Fifth Legislature of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba STANDING COMMITTEE on INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 39-40 Elizabeth II Chairperson Mrs. ShirleyRender Constituencyof St. Vital VOL XLI No.3 • 7 p.m., MONDAY, JUNE 22,1992 MG-8048 ISSN 0713-9608 Printed byllle Offlcs of llle a.-. Printer, Prov#I'ICB of Manitoba MANITOBA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Thirty-Fifth Legislature Members, Constituenciesand Political Affiliation NAME CONSTITUENCY PARTY. ALCOCK, Reg Osbome Liberal ASHTON, Steve Thompson NDP BARRETT,Becky Wellington NDP CARSTAIRS, Sharon River Heights Liberal CERILLI, Marianne Radisson NDP CHEEMA, Guizar The Maples Liberal CHOMIAK, Dave Kildonan NDP CONNERY, Edward Portage Ia Prairie PC CUMMINGS, Glen, Hon. Ste. Rose PC DACQUAY, Louise Seine River PC DERKACH, Leonard, Hon. Roblin-Russell PC DEWAR, Gregory Selkirk NDP DOER, Gary Concordia NDP DOWNEY, James, Hon. Arthur-Virden PC DRIEDGER, Albert, Hon. Steinbach PC DUCHARME, Gerry, Hon. Riel PC EDWARDS, Paul St. James Liberal ENNS, Harry, Hon. Lakeside PC ERNST, Jim, Hon. Charleswood PC EVANS, Clif Interlake NDP EVANS, Leonard S. Brandon East NDP FILMON, Gary, Hon. Tuxedo PC FINDLAY, Glen, Hon. Springfield PC FRIESEN, Jean Wolseley NDP GAUDRY, Neil St. Boniface Liberal GILLESHAMMER, Harold, Hon. Minnedosa PC HARPER, Elijah Rupertsland NDP HELWER, EdwardR. Gimli PC HICKES, George Point Douglas NDP LAMOUREUX, Kevin Inkster Liberal LATHLIN, Oscar The Pas NDP LAURENDEAU,Marcel St. Norbert PC MALOWAY, Jim Elmwood NDP MANNESS, Clayton, Hon. Morris PC MARTINDALE, Doug Burrows NDP McALPINE, Gerry Sturgeon Creek PC McCRAE, James, Hon. BrandonWest PC MciNTOSH, Linda,Hon. Assiniboia PC MITCHELSON, Bonnie, Hon. River East PC NEUFELD, Harold Rossmere PC ORCHARD, Donald, Hon. Pembina PC PENNER, Jack Emerson PC PLOHMAN, John Dauphin NDP PRAZNIK, Darren, Hon. Lac du Bonnet PC REID, Daryl Transcona NDP REIMER, Jack Niakwa PC RENDER, Shirley St. Vital PC ROCAN, Denis, Hon. Gladstone PC ROSE, Bob Turtle Mountain PC SANTOS, Conrad Broadway NDP STEFANSON, Eric, Hon. Kirkfield Park PC STORIE, Jerry Flin Flon NDP SVEINSON, Ben La Verendrye PC VODREY, Rosemary, Hon. FortGarry PC WASYLYCIA-LEIS, Judy St. Johns NDP WOWCHUK, Rosann Swan River NDP 67 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS Monday, June 22,1992 TIME -7p.m. Diane Sobie, Manitoba Anti-Poverty LOCAT ION-Winnipeg, Manitoba Association Erika Wiebe, Winnipeg Child and Family CHA IRPER SON- Mr s. Shirley Render (S l VItal) Services - Central Area ATTENDANCE · 10- QU ORUM· 6 Shirley Lord, Choices Members of the Committeepresent: Renate Bublick, Social Planning Council of Hon. Messrs. Gilleshammer, Praznik, Hon. Winnipeg Mrs. Mcintosh Greg Selinger, Councillor for TacheWard , City Mr. Ashton, Ms. Barrett, Mrs. Carstairs, Mr. of Winnipeg Martindale, Mrs. Render, Messrs. Rose, WR ITTEN SUBMISS IONS: Sveinson Bill 85-The Labour Relations Amendment Act WITNESSES: Ross Martin, Brandon & District Labour Bill 85-The Labour Relations Amendment Act Councii, CLC Susan Spratt, CanadianAuto Workers James Cowan, Graphic Communications Peter Olfert,Manitoba Government Employees International Union Association Neil Harden, The Professional Institute of the Howard Raper, Communications and Electrical Public Service of Canada Workers of Canada Sandy Hopkins, Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce Paul Moist, Canadian Union of Public Employees - Local 500 Grant Mitchell, Private Citizen Bill Sumerlus, Canadian Union of Public Bill 64-The Child and Family Services Employees - National Amendment Act Terry Clifford, Manitoba Teachers' Society Dennis Schellenberg, Child and Family Services of Central Manitoba Richard Orlandini, Choices Jerry Ross, Private Citizen Bernard Christophe, United Food and Commercial Workers Gillian Colton, Private Citizen Gale Pearase, Director, The Street Kids and Roland Doucet, Private Citizen Youth Project Bill 64-The Child and Family Services MATTERS UNDER DISCUSS IO N: Amendment Act Bill 64-The Child and Family Services Rob Grant, Manitoba Coalition on Children's Amendment Act Rights Bill 70-The Social Allowances Amendment and Jean Altmeyer, Choices Consequential AmendmentsAct Mike Bills, Knowles Centre, Inc. Bill 85-The Labour Relations Amendment Act Bill 70-The Social Allowances Amendment and *** Consequential Amendments Act Madam Chairperson: I would like to call this Genny Funk-Unrau, Private Citizen committee to order to resume presentations Pat Woolley, St. Matthews-Maryland regarding Bill 85. I would also like to advise Community Ministry committee members that I have received a fourth 68 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA June 22, 1992 written presentation. This is from the Winnipeg Relations Board, the business community and Chamber of Commerce. They were, as committee labour all know the past practice, history and the members may remember, scheduled to appear in working of these provisions. To change it, in the person, Sandy Hopkins representing the Winnipeg minister's opinion would be to bring Manitoba in line Chamber of Commerce. with other jurisdictions. I would now like to call upon Roland Doucet, The CAW strongly protests the changing of this Private Citizen. I will then call upon Susan Spratt, section. The proposal in Bill 85, Section 3 which Canadian Auto Workers union and there will be a deals with subsection 6(1 ) , 6(2), 6(3), will make it presentation distributed. Would you like to go easier for the employers to interfere in organizing ahead? drives and to circumvent the certification processby the use of fear tactics under the guise of reasonably Bill 85-TheLabour Relations held opinion. Amendment Act Employers will now be able to say, if these Ms. Susan Spratt (Canadian Auto Worker s): changes receive Royal Assent, almost anything to Sure, thank you very much. their workers in an attempt to deny the workers the The CAW Canada represents working women opportunityto join a union of their choice by catering and men in over 27 workplaces in Manitoba. Our to the fears of their workers by making statements members work in foundries, theaerospace industry, so long as it may be even remotely reasonable. furniture manufacturing, farm equipment These changes will only draw out thecertification manufacturing, the service industry, the public processand will, we submit, have the parties before sector, auto parts and servicing industry workers, the Labour Board on issues such as reasonably held and workers in many other industries including the statements many more times, which only serves the carmen in the railways. interestsof employers in an attemptto keepunions The proposed changes to The Labour Relations out of their workplaces. If it is not broke, do notfix Act in Manitoba are, in most areas, a step it. backwards for working people in this province. In The Bill 85 proposed amendments in Section 6, the Labour minister's announcement of the dealing with subsection 41 , is another step proposedamendments to the act, he stated thatthe backward, in our opinion, with respect to the amendments are the result of a lengthy review of expansion of secret ballot vote on applications for Manitoba's labour legislation and are designed to certification. The lowering of the limit to 40 percent improve the operation of the current act, and that is meaningless, since the majority of times unions theseam endmentsuphold the right of employees to rarely make application with a low percentage of join a union. Minister Praznik goes on to say that support. their purpose is to provide greater certainty in the In the CAW-Canada's opinion, this is a change certification process. which is not required, but we will accept. On the Nothing, in our opinion, is further from the truth, other hand, increasing the percentagerequired from and the minister's comments show a total lack of 55 percent to 65 percent to receive automatic understanding of the real labour relations world in certification makes the whole process more lengthy Manitoba. and will increase the amount of votes which have to The CAW Canada submits thatthemajority of the be held. It will also give employers more of an amendments as proposed are designed to thwart opportunity to intimidate their workers by drawing the union certification process and are in response out the process. to pressure from the business community. There You are most certainlyaware that unions operate are no proposals in Bill 85 which are a direct request with a great difficultywhen organizing due to the fact from the labour community. that unions do not have access to the workplace, The amendments to Bill 85 and Section 8, 1 0 and nor do unions have access to the names and 11, which have the approval of the Labour addresses of the employees. If this government Management Review Committee, we are not in wishes to be progressive, we would submit that the opposition to. The current provisions in the act present level of 55 percent be lowered to 50 percent, under Part 1 , Section 6, although not perfect, are which is based on a simple majority of the total working well and all parties involved, The Labour number of employees in the unit. June 22, 1992 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 69 This, we submit, would be more democratic. The Ms. Spratt: It has been my experience and the amendments in Section 7, regarding subsection experience of our organizing department with the 4S(4), vis-a-vis information on initiation fees and Canadian Auto Workers that the process to regular membership dues is, to say the least, a organize the workplace is very complicated, and shock. This issue to our knowledge has never been that if you go in to meet with workers, it is a very discussed in the Labour Management Review long, slow process. They ask many, many Committee and the proposal comes right out of the questions. They want to know about the wilderness. constitution of the union. They wish to know questions in relationship to unionization. There is no other jurisdiction in Canada with even a remotely similar provision and this, once again, * (1 920) leaves the process of certifications to challenges, Many times you will go and talk to workers, two, delays and lengthy hearings before the board.