Labour Relations Amendment Act (Bargaining Units and Certification of Trade Unions), 2013 McDonell, Jim — Bill 94 (40th Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 94, 40-2

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Bill 94, Labour Relations Amendment Act (Bargaining Units and Certification of Trade Unions), 2013

McDonell, Jim

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[40] Bill 94 Original (PDF)

Bill 94 2013

Act to amend the Labour Relations Act, 1995 with respect to the determination

of bargaining units and the certification of trade unions

Note:

This Act amends the Labour Relations Act,

1995 . For the legislative history of the Act, see the Table of

Consolidated Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History at

www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

1. Subsection

1 (1) of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 is amended

by adding the following definition:

"coercion" and "intimidation" include a pattern of conduct by a person

or group of persons with respect to another person or group of persons that

consists of repeated personal approaches, stalking or harassment through any

means, including by telephone or by uttering threats; ("contrainte",

"intimidation", "menace")

2. (1) Subsection

7 (12) of the Act is amended by striking out "shall" and substituting "may".

(2) Subsection 7 (13) of the Act is amended by striking

out "The application for certification" at the beginning and substituting "If

the application for certification includes a description of the proposed

bargaining unit, it".

(3) Section 7 of the Act is amended by adding the following

subsection:

Default

bargaining unit

(15) If the trade union does not include a description of

the proposed bargaining unit in the application for certification in accordance

with subsection (12), the bargaining unit for the purposes of the application shall

consist of all of the employees of the employer at the time of the application,

subject to the regulations made under this Act.

3. (1) Subsections

8 (1) and (2) of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:

Voting

constituency

(1) Upon receiving an application for certification, the

Board shall determine the voting constituency to be used for a representation

vote and shall base the determination on the bargaining unit that it determines

under

section 9.

Direction

re representation vote

(2) The Board shall direct that a

representation vote be taken among the individuals in the voting constituency if,

after holding a hearing, the Board determines that,

(a) 40

per cent or more of the individuals in the bargaining unit proposed in the application

for certification, or in the bargaining unit described in subsection 7 (15) if

the trade union did not propose a bargaining unit in the application, appear to

be members of the union at the time the application was filed; or

(

b) the

employer or a person acting on behalf of the employer has contravened

section

72 with respect to the activities of the trade union to achieve the percentage

of membership described in clause (a).

(2) Subsection 8 (4) of the Act is repealed.

(3) Subsection 8 (5) of the Act is amended by striking out

"within five days" and substituting "no earlier than five days and no later

than 10 days".

(4) Section 8 of the Act is amended by adding the

following subsection:

Transition

(10) This section, as it read immediately before the day

the Labour Relations Amendment Act (Bargaining Units and

Certification of Trade Unions), 2013 receives Royal Assent, continues to

apply to an application for certification that the Board receives before that

day.

4. Subsection

8.1 (3) of the Act is amended by striking out "two days" and substituting "five

days".

5. (1) Subsection

9 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "Subject to subsection (2)" at the

beginning.

(2) Subsection 9 (2) of the Act is repealed.

6. (1) Subsection

11 (2) of the Act is amended by adding "or" at the end of clause (a), by

striking out "or" at the end of clause (

b) and by striking out clause (c).

(2) Section 11 of the Act is amended by adding the

following subsection:

Hearing

required

(2.1) If a trade union makes an application under

subsection (2), the Board shall hold a hearing before making an order under

that subsection or refusing to make an order under that subsection.

(3) Subsection 11 (3) of the Act is amended by striking

out "or subsection 10 (2)" at the end.

7. Subsection

79 (5) of the Act is repealed.

8. (1) Subsection

96 (4) of the Act is amended by striking out "or where the Board in its

discretion considers it advisable to dispense with an inquiry by a labour

relations officer" in the portion before clause (a).

(2) Subsection 96 (5) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Burden

of proof

(5) On an inquiry by the Board under subsection (4) into a

complaint that is made on or after the day the Labour

Relations Amendment Act (Bargaining Units and Certification of Trade Unions),

2013 receives Royal Assent, the burden of proof that a person or body

has contravened this Act lies on the complainant alleging the contravention.

Transition

(5.1) Subsection (4), as it read immediately before the

day the Labour Relations Amendment Act (Bargaining Units

and Certification of Trade Unions), 2013 receives Royal Assent,

continues to apply to an inquiry described in that subsection with respect to a

complaint made before that day.

9. Subsection

98 (4) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Burden

of proof

(4) In an application under this section, the burden of

proof lies on the applicant.

Section

116 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Appeal

116. A

party affected by a decision, order, direction, declaration or ruling of the

Board may appeal it to the Divisional Court in accordance with the rules of

court.

Section

125 of the Act is amended by adding the following clause:

(0.

a) determining

what constitutes a bargaining unit in any class of application for

certification for the purposes of subsection 7 (15);

12. Subsection

128 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Bargaining

units in the construction industry

(1) If a trade union

applies for certification as bargaining agent of the employees of an employer,

the Board shall determine the unit of employees that is appropriate for

collective bargaining and it shall not confine the unit to a particular project,

work site or shift.

(1) Subsection

128.1 (6) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Hearing

(6) The Board,

(

a) may

hold a hearing if it receives the application for certification before the day

the Labour Relations Amendment Act (Bargaining Units and

Certification of Trade Unions), 2013 receives Royal Assent and the Board

considers it necessary to do so in order to make a decision under this section;

and

(

b) shall

hold a hearing if it receives the application for certification on or after the

day the Labour Relations Amendment Act (Bargaining Units

and Certification of Trade Unions), 2013 receives Royal Assent.

(2) Subsection 128.1 (9) of the Act is amended by striking

out "directed under clause (13) (b)".

(3) Subsections 128.1 (12) and (13) of the Act are

repealed and the following substituted:

Board

shall direct representation vote

(12) If the Board is satisfied that at

least 40 per cent of the employees in the bargaining unit are members of the

trade union on the date the application is filed, it shall direct that a

representation vote be taken.

(4) Clause 128.1 (21) (

a) of the Act is amended by

striking out "(7), (12) or (13)" and substituting "(7) or (12)".

(5) Clause 128.1 (21) (

b) of the Act is amended by

striking out "or clause (13) (b)".

(6) Subsection 128.1 (23) of the Act is amended by

striking out "or clause (13) (b)" at the end.

(7) Clause 128.1 (24) (

b) of the Act is repealed.

14. Subsection

160 (2) of the Act is repealed.

Commencement

15. This

Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short

title

16. The

short title of this Act is the Labour Relations Amendment

Act (Bargaining Units and Certification of Trade Unions), 2013 .

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill amends the Labour Relations Act, 1995 .

trade union is no longer required to include a written description of the

proposed bargaining unit in an application for certification. If it does not

include one, the bargaining unit for the purposes of the application consists

of all of the employees of the employer at the time of the application, subject

to the regulations made under the Act.

The

Ontario Labour Relations Board is required to hold a hearing when determining

whether to direct a representation vote under

section 8 of the Act. The Board

is required to base the voting constituency for the vote on the determination

of the bargaining unit that it makes under

section 9 of the Act. The Bill adds

another circumstance in which the Board is required to order a representation

vote, specifically if the Board determines that the employer or a person acting

on behalf of the employer has interfered improperly with the activities of the

trade union to achieve the threshold of 40 per cent membership among

individuals in the bargaining unit which triggers a representation vote. The

Bill extends the time limit for an order for the holding of a representation

vote from five days to 10 days after the day on which the application for

certification is filed with the Board.

The

Board is prohibited from certifying a trade union as the bargaining agent of

the employees in a bargaining unit unless a representation vote is held among

the employees.

present, employees in the construction industry are exempt from certain

restrictions in

section 79 of the Act against striking. The Bill removes that

exemption.

present, if a complaint alleges that an employer or employers' organization has

contravened the Act with respect to employment practices, the burden of proof

in an inquiry by the Board into the complaint lies with the employer or

employers' organization. The Bill transfers the burden of proof to the

complainant.

present, a party affected by a decision of the Board has no right of appeal.

The Bill provides a right of appeal to the Divisional Court in accordance with

the rules of court.

determining the unit of employees in the construction industry that is

appropriate for collective bargaining, the Board is no longer permitted to

refer to a geographic area and is not permitted to confine the unit to a

particular work site or shift.

The

Board is required to hold a hearing to determine whether

section 128.1 of the

Act authorizes it to certify a trade union as the bargaining agent of the

employees in a bargaining unit in the construction industry.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

June 10, 2013

First Reading

Carried

Acts affected - Bill 94

Most Ontario public acts are available electronically; to view copies of the Acts to be amended by this bill visit e-laws

Labour Relations Act, 1995

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

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Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 94, 40-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p40 s2 bill 94 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	889782d825285f1280f2a2b675a829c76b97aeaf

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