Last week, the federal government introduced Bill C-62, An Act to amend the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act and other Acts.
The Bill is aimed at repealing two blatantly anti-labour pieces of legislation introduced by the former Harper government, Division 20 of Bill C-59 and Bill C-4.
The first of these sought to unilaterally impose an inferior disability and sick leave management system on public servants, an unwarranted and significant attack on our members’ rights.
Bill C-4 would have drastically changed the rules for collective bargaining within the public service, giving the government full control over union rights such as the right to strike and the right to arbitration. The government would have also determined what positions would be considered essential.
While one of the Liberal government’s first decisions was not to exercise these powers, PIPSC welcomes the introduction of Bill C-62, which will formally put an end to measures introduced by the former government that eliminated any real hope of a level playing field in federal labour relations.
We hope the Bill will proceed promptly through the legislative process and that it will be adopted shortly. It’s time to finally turn the page on a sombre time for Canada’s labour movement as a whole, and the federal public service in particular.