Employment Relations in Canada: Legal Framework and Trade Unions

This report provides a comprehensive overview of employment relations in Canada, examining the legal framework governing the relationship between employers and employees. It begins by outlining the federal system of administration and the role of the Canada Labour Code, which addresses industrial relations, health and safety, and federal labour standards. The report then delves into provincial legislations like the Employment Standards Act, 2000, highlighting their impact on employee rights, minimum wages, and work hours. It further explores the history and characteristics of trade unions in Canada, emphasizing their role in representing employees, promoting awareness of rights, and ensuring workplace safety. The report concludes by highlighting the benefits of union membership, such as higher wages, guaranteed benefits, and training opportunities, underscoring the thriving future of trade unions in the Canadian context.

Running head: EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN CANADA
EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN CANADA
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN CANADA
Part A
The Canadian government follows the federal system of administration. Federalism refers
to a two-tier structure of government where there is a clear bifurcation of powers and jurisdiction
between a central body and a state body (provincial in case of Canada) (Hueglin, 2013). Labour
laws are laws that regulate the rights and responsibilities of each party involved in the
employment process (employer and employee) and the relationship between these parties maybe
defined as industrial relations. Additionally, labour law also defines and regulates the
reconciliation process in case of disputes between these parties. Thus, the primary aim of labour
legislation is to provide social security and welfare measures for the workforce (McQuarrie,
2015). The governing statute for industrial relations in Canada is the Canada Labour Code which
was enacted in 1985 (McQuarrie, 2015). This piece of legislation is mainly based on the
Industrial Relations and Disputes Investigation Act, 1948 and is divided into three parts each
dealing with a separate area of regulation. The first deals with industrial relation mainly
collective bargaining. “Collective bargaining” refers to the bargaining power held by the
employees as a represented group (Tarrow, 2013). The most effective manifestation of this is
through trade unions. Trade union memberships and density have been declining globally but
Canadian union membership has been relatively consistent (Blanpain & Bisom-Rapp, 2014). The
second part of this code deals with health and safety measures relating to occupational duties.
Sections 124 and 125 of the code define safety measures owed by the employer towards the
employee. This is particularly helpful for members of the work force dealing with dangerous or
hazardous activities as part of their occupational duties. The third and final part of the code deals
with Federal Labour Standards, this part essentially defines the course of employment based on

2EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN CANADA
prevailing labour standards such as the minimum rate of remuneration and work hours demanded
from employers. Additionally, it defines the ideal tolerance policy of employers for various
actions within the course of employment for example Division XV.1 of the code imposes a
complete prohibition of sexual harassment in the workplace. This is the structural framework of
employment laws on the Federal Level. This must be adhered to by the provinces though they
may enact supporting statutes to further consolidate their position on a particular issue of law.
The Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour Legislation (CAALL) is an association
that recommends and formulates transparent and fair employment laws in order to build strong
industrial relations. It does this through various standing committees like the International
Labour Affairs committee, Conciliation and Mediation committee, Occupational Safety and
Health committee, Strategic Labour Policy committee and the Labour Standards committee.
There are provincial legislations that provide other protections to employees such as the
Employment Standards Act, 2000 enacted for Ontario (McQuarrie, 2015). It provides for
continuity and minimum wages as well as the minimum standard works hours demanded of an
employee (McQuarrie, 2015). It also regulates the terms of termination and the leave structure
employees should ideally have access to. In the present context labour legislations are of
paramount importance as there is a radical change in the underlying school of thought that
governed employment relations from an employer dominated approach to a more employees
rights oriented approach (Rosenbloom, 2014). The British Columbia Employment Standards Act,
1996 is a similar legislation with comparable provisions it also goes on to provide exceptions on
jurisdiction in certain cases. An example of this would be the employees working within the
province but in industries where the Federal government has exclusive jurisdiction. The

3EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN CANADA
Employment Equity Act, 1995 Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act, 1985 can be listed as
similar pieces of legislation.
Trade Union membership in Canada increased from 4.75 million in 2014 to 4.83 million
in 2015 (McQuarrie, 2015). As a whole trade union membership in Canada is consistent due to
various advantages available to the unionized section of the workforce. Trade union members in
Canada have what is termed as a Union Advantage which translates into certain benefits
available to them, these include higher wage standards, guaranteed pension and safety benefits
and also vocation-oriented training methods (McQuarrie, 2015).
Part B
The origin of trade unions in Canada can be traced back to the enactment of the Trade
Unions Act, 1872 (Basok & López-Sala, 2016). The characteristics of a unionized workforce in
Canada become evident from an objective look at the union membership density and the reasons
behind it. Labour law in Canada empowers the workforce with ample rights to ensure employee
grievances are dealt with efficiently, these include the right to work stoppages through strikes
and lockouts, the right to industrial action and the right to pursue litigation or arbitration in case
of breach of rights (Ciuriak & Curtis, 2013). The purpose of trade unions is primarily
representation (Gumbrell-McCormick & Hyman, 2013). It is a representation of the labour
force’s collective demands from their employers. Being a collective body it is the most efficient
way to get across employee grievance to the employers. Apart from representation trade unions
act as an effective body to spread awareness regarding rights of employees and their
corresponding duties (McQuarrie, 2015).

4EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN CANADA
Trade unions are beneficial to employees to the extent that as a collective it provides
better representation when presenting a set of demands. Another key benefit provided by trade
unions is transparency and more equitable representation before the law, this is of utmost
importance as equitable representation is the main aim of forming trade unions. In Canada trade
unions also ensure safety measures which protect employees from occupational hazards like
factory work which involve the dangers of industrial accidents (McQuarrie, 2015). These
measures help provide a protected environment where employees can focus on the work at hand
devoid of the fear of temporary or permanent damage of any sort. These benefits clearly indicate
that trade unions have a thriving future in Canada and will continue to obtain consistent
membership throughout the years to come.

5EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN CANADA
Reference list:
Basok, T., &López-Sala, A. (2016). Rights and Restrictions: Temporary Agricultural Migrants
and Trade Unions’ Activism in Canada and Spain. Journal of International Migration
and Integration, 17(4), 1271-1287.
Blanpain, R., &Bisom-Rapp, S. (2014). Global Workplace: International and Comparative
Employment Law Cases and Materials. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
Ciuriak, D., & Curtis, J. M. (2013). The resurgence of industrial policy and what it means for
Canada.
Fudge, J., & Strauss, K. (Eds.). (2013). Temporary work, agencies and unfreelabour: Insecurity
in the new world of work. Routledge.
Gumbrell-McCormick, R., & Hyman, R. (2013). Trade unions in Western Europe: hard times,
hard choices. Oxford University Press.
Hueglin, T. (2013). Treaty federalism as a model of policy making: Comparing Canada and the
European Union. Canadian Public Administration, 56(2), 185-202.
McQuarrie, F. (2015). Industrial relations in Canada.John Wiley & Sons.
Rosenbloom, D. H. (2014). Federal service and the constitution: The development of the public
employment relationship. Georgetown University Press.
Senese, L. C., & Wilson, K. (2013). Aboriginal urbanization and rights in Canada: Examining
implications for health. Social Science & Medicine, 91, 219-228.

6EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN CANADA
Tarrow, S. (2013). Contentious politics. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.