Quick Analysis
This legislation will change how ambulance paramedics bargain.
It would require ambulance workers not covered by the Crown
Employees Collective Bargaining Act (CECBA) or the Hospital Labour
Disputes Arbitration Act (HLDAA) to have an essential services
agreement in place prior to a strike or lockout.
This removes the right to strike for staff in many
municipally-based services and in services that are privately-operated
on contract with Upper Tier Municipalities. It establishes an
unbalanced and unfair dispute resolution process designed to keep the
lid on wages.
The bill retains the patchwork of labour relations rules that
exists for ambulance workers, since some services will continue to be
covered by CECBA, some by HLDAA, and some, depending on how the Labour
Board rules, by the Fire Protection and Prevention Act. It actually
makes matters worse.
It means that the terms and conditions in ambulance paramedics’
contracts will be directly related to the rules under which they
bargain.
Essential services
Under Bill 58, a strike under an essential services agreement is
doomed to fail. Essential services are so broadly defined they cover
most calls. Virtually all employees would be determined essential.
Most services are staffed to provide emergency coverage;
non-emergency calls get done in between. For these services, staffing
would be 100 per cent essential. Only services that have dedicated
transfer vehicles would have less than 100 per cent declared
essential.
The bill defines any work that is "incidental" to the
essential service as essential. Employers would likely argue that the
return trip is incidental and therefore essential. Unlike CECBA, this
bill requires essential services workers to perform all the
non-essential parts of their job.
Strike first
The union has to start a strike before it can apply to the Ontario
Labour Relations Board for a declaration that employees have no
meaningful right to strike. The Board has to decide whether the strike
has gone on long enough to make that declaration.
If so, it can amend the Essential Service Agreement and direct the
parties to continue negotiations, or begin mediation, or order all
matters to binding arbitration or anything else it considers
appropriate.
If the Board directs the case to arbitration, the strike must end.
That also ends any strike for members of the bargaining unit who are not
ambulance workers. In the case of a municipal all-employee
bargaining unit, the arbitrator could decide the fate of the entire
bargaining unit, not just the ambulance workers. This is bound to
create problems in the bargaining unit.
Rules for arbitrators
The bill establishes new, heavy-handed rules. It gives the Minister
power to appoint an arbitrator, and to set the criteria that the
arbitrator must use (different from the HLDAA requirements). The
Minister will appoint an arbitrator if the parties cannot agree on one
within seven days, or if a replacement is needed. The appointee need
not be acceptable to the parties, and need not even have any
experience at arbitration. The Minister could even appoint an employer
representative. A Minister’s appointment is not subject to judicial
review.
The bill requires the arbitrator to consider ability to pay, as do
HLDAA and the Public Sector Dispute Resolution Act. But Bill 58
arbitrators must also consider comparisons of costs of providing the
services through private services, in the case of public sector
employers, or other private services, in the case of private sector
employers. This encourages public sector employers to privatize
ambulance services and lower wages.
The bill is structured to cover situations that may arise in the
future: downloading of dispatch services and privatization of air
ambulance.
Overview
Who it covers
- Employees in bargaining units that include ambulance workers;
their employers and bargaining agents;
- Not bargaining units covered by the Crown Employees Collective
Bargaining Act (CECBA) or the Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration
Act (HLDAA)
- Bill 58 applies if there is any conflict with The Labour Relations
Act (LRA)
Essential Services Agreement
- An Essential Services Agreement must be in place before a strike
or lockout can take place.
- Essential services are defined to cover all emergency calls (Codes
3 and 4), and probably all Code 2s, call taking and dispatch
services, work performed on an ambulance that is related to health
and safety, as well as any work that is "incidental"
to these services.
- The parties must begin negotiating an essential services agreement
180 days before the contract expires or if a new contract, 15 days
after notice to bargain, or later if the parties agree.
Terms of Essential Services Agreement
- The agreement can not prevent the use of scabs.
- Essential service workers are required to perform non-essential
work.
- The employer can increase the number of workers required if there
is an unanticipated emergency (for 72 hours or longer if agreement
or by Board order).
- Terms and conditions of essential services workers continue.
No Meaningful Right to Strike
- A union must go on strike before asking the Labour Board for a
declaration that there is no meaningful right to strike.
- The Board must first decide if the strike has gone on long enough
to make such a declaration.
- The Board can: amend the essential services agreement; order the
parties to continue negotiations; send them to mediation; order all
matters to binding arbitration; or anything else it thinks
appropriate
Arbitration
- If the case is ordered to arbitration, all employees must stop
striking, even members of the bargaining unit who are not ambulance
workers.
- The Minister will appoint an arbitrator if the parties cannot
agree to one within seven days, or if a replacement is necessary.
- The arbitrator appointed does not need experience as an
arbitrator. Nor need it be acceptable to labour and management.
- The appointment can not be judicially reviewed.
- The Minister will select the method of arbitration, including
final offer selection.
- The arbitrator must consider ability to pay, extent to which
services would have to be reduced in light of the decision, if
funding and taxation levels are not increased, etc.
- Arbitrators must also consider comparisons of costs of running
ambulance services by private operators, if the case is of a public
operator, or other private services, if the case is of a private
service
June 7, 2001
Notice of Media Conference: Bill 58 Threatens Public Safety
