It has been a decade since the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that workers do have collective rights, including the right to strike, which employers and governments cannot easily overturn. As labour scholar Charles Smith wrote a decade ago for Rankandfile.ca: The challenge now is how workers and their unions can transform their legal victory Continue reading10 Years of the Right to Strike
labour law
By Bob Barnetson An unfair labour practice complaint, alleging Christmas cards sent by a union to the employer’s bargaining team amounted to “Mafia-esque” intimidation, provides insight into the unexpected impact that Alberta’s restrictive picketing laws may have on union pressure tactics during bargaining. Alberta’s picketing laws In 2019, the United Conservative Party (UCP) formed government Continue readingXmas card “intimidation” and Alberta’s anti-picketing laws
By Doug Nesbitt Three notable labour policy changes were made in the first week of April, 2022: April 4: The federal government announced a significant loosening of Temporary Foreign Worker restrictionsApril 6: British Columbia’s government announced Bill 10 to deliver “card check” or single-step union certificationApril 7: Ontario’s government Bill 88 became law, imposing sub-minimum Continue readingLabour laws in Canada do the Backwards Shuffle
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney tabled Bill 1: The Critical Infrastructure Defense Act on February 25, 2020. The bill would crack down on Indigenous land defenders supporting Wet’suwet’en sovereignty, but also have implications for labour and other social movements – especially in light of Kenney’s recent austerity budget. University of Alberta professor James Muir explains more. Continue readingWhat does Kenney’s Bill 1 mean for Indigenous, labour and social movements?
by Emily Leedham As the Co-op Refinery’s unionized workforce enters their third month of a lockout, Federated Co-operatives Ltd. (FCL) is expanding on-site camps for replacement workers. Unifor 594 refinery workers have been fighting rollbacks to their pensions and savings plans. “If they’re bringing in extra camps to house these workers, it’s for one reason, Continue readingCo-op’s weak OH&S fines highlight labour laws stacked against Unifor 594
David Camfield, author of Canadian Labour in Crisis, explores Canada’s labour law, the Rand Formula, and how this framework impacts labour organizing today. fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/canadian-…bour-in-crisis
By Evan Johnston On June 5, the Ontario government introduced Bill 124, the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019. Peter Bethlenfalvy, current Treasury Board President and former Wall Street executive, claims that the bill “allow[s] for reasonable wage increases, while protecting the province’s front-line services, restoring the province’s financial position and Continue readingFour things you should know about Bill 124
Workers in the oil and gas industry have been used as a talking point by the Alberta NDP and United Conservative Party, both parties say they are the best choice for workers to get the Trans Mountain pipeline built and create more jobs in the industry. Albertans go to the polls on Tuesday, April 16. Continue readingWhat is it actually like to work in Alberta’s oil patch?
By Peter Hogarth Labour law changes are coming to federally-regulated workers. If you have been following the Fight for $15 and Fairness in Ontario, then the changes introduced in the federal government’s Budget Implementation Act, Bill C-86, will sound similar to the labour law changes the Ontario Liberals introduced in 2017 with Bill 148. The Continue readingFighting for $15 & Fairness from Bill C-86 to the workplace
Bob Barnetson, Athabasca University prof, provides an overview of the labour reforms introduced by the NDP, and what might happen to those reforms should Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party form government in just a few months. He also provides an update on bargaining and impending faculty strike at Athabasca University. albertalabour.blogspot.com/ And Regan Boychuk from Continue readingBob Barnetson on the Alberta NDP’s labour reforms & Regan Boychuk on cleaning up oil & gas wells
By Bob Barnetson There was an interesting post the other day about how workers in a US restaurant took direct and collective action to protect their health and safety when confronted with (1) unsafe temperatures and (2) a potentially lethal carbon mono-oxide leak. In both cases, the workers walked off the job until the employer Continue readingOn the absence of concerted-activity protections in Alberta
Rank & File Radio – Prairie Edition on CKUW 95.90 FM provides Canadian labour news and analysis across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. This show is an independent partner with RankandFile.ca and supported by listeners like you through Patreon, and UFCW Local 832. This episode is broadcasting from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Treaty 1 territory, the original lands Continue readingCharles Smith & Suzanne MacNeil on the right to strike, civil disobedience & solidarity pickets