Posted: Wednesday, 10 June 2009

On behalf of over three million members, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) would like to present its views on modernizing labour standards under Part III of the Canada Labour Code. The CLC brings together Canada's national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour, and more than 130 district labour councils. Our members work in all parts of Canada, in almost all occupations, in all sectors of the Canadian economy, including in the federal private sector.

After carefully assessing the potential repercussions of Professor Harry W. Arthurs Report entitled Fairness at Work: Federal Labour Standards for the 21st Century, and after reviewing the discussion paper provided by HRSDC for this consultation, the intent of this brief is to provide recommendations and technical comments to government officials on potential legislative amendments to the Canada Labour Code.

General Principles and Priorities to Legislative Changes

The CLC has sought and continues to seek a model Labour Code at the federal level that takes full account of today's realities in the workplace and in wider society. Especially the growing imbalance of power between workers and employers; increased competitive pressure which exert downward pressure on labour rights and standards in the absence of countervailing public regulation; the growth of more precarious forms of employment; growing difficulties reconciling paid work with caring responsibilities, especially for women; and a more racially diverse workforce.

We argued, and we continue to believe, that there should be effective access to minimum rights and standards for all workers under federal jurisdiction at least equal to the best standards at the provincial level, and that also reflect norms which have been clearly established in collective agreements and in international labour standards, such as those passed by the ILO.

The current federal Code falls well short of best provincial practice in a number of key areas, including enforcement, leave provisions, and protection of human rights. Labour rights and standards at the federal level in Canada also fall well short of the norm in other advanced industrial countries (e.g., paid leave, maximum hours, minimum pay standards, and protection of part-time and contract workers). A floor of widely observed labour rights and standards is an important part of creating a more productive economy, as well as a fairer society, as demonstrated by the good economic performance of many jurisdictions with high labour standards. Substantive reform of the Code is of no use to workers if its provisions are not reflected in workplace realities, and if the Code does not provide a vision of what constitutes decency at work.

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