Public-sector Labour Relations in an Era of Restraint and Restructuring - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195415914 ISBN 13: 9780195415919

Publisher: Oxford University Press, Canada, 2000

Synopsis

The 1990s in Canada will probably go down as the most stressful decade for public-sector industrial relations since the inception, 25 years earlier, of collective bargaining in the public service. Government debt and deficits became the rationale for downsizing, outsourcing, privatization, layoffs, buyouts, and early retirement packages at both the federal and provincial levels. When workers' bargaining units did not bend to government demands at the negotiating table, and when their leaders did not blink at the threat of restrictive legislation, then governments of both the right and the left at times found it expedient to legislate rule changes to suit their fiscal or ideological purposes.

Although collective bargaining is still alive, a major conclusion of this study is that collective bargaining in the Canadian public sector is decidedly not well. The cases reported here demonstrate that governments have adopted the attitude and policy that they may engage in bargaining or suspend it whenever they find that course of action to be convenient. Viewed from a broader international standpoint, as discussed in the concluding chapter, the unilateral suspension of the bargaining rights of public sector employees by Canadian governments cannot be justified by the norms and agreements that Canada has shared with the international community.

About this title

Synopsis

This volume provides in-depth case studies of public service labour relations in Canada during the 1990s. The cases reported demonstrate that governments have adopted the attitude and policy that they may engage in bargaining or suspend it whenever thay find that course of action to be convenient. Viewed from a broader international context, as discussed in the concluding chapter, the casual suspension of bargaining by Canadian governments cannot be justified by the norms and agreements that Canada has shared with the international community.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Canada
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195415914
• ISBN 13: 9780195415919
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224
• Editor: Swimmer Gene