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Labour Relations

Minutes of the CLRC

Charlottetown - May 3 to 5, 2006

Note: Nunavut, NWT and Yukon are not members of the LR Committee as they do not have mediation services.

1. Welcome and Introductions
   • The Committee welcomed Annette Wall, ADM of Labour who will now be the BC representative on the Committee. As of June 1, 2006, the BC mediation service is being relocated from the British Columbia Labour Relations Board (BCLRB) to the department. The Committee also welcomed Heather Calder, Senior Research Officer with the FMCS, who worked with the Capacity Sub-committee to develop the Capacity Report requested by Deputies.
2. Status update on 2005-06 Workplan
   • The remake of "The 3Rs" preventive mediation video, a collaborative effort by Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, British Columbia and FMCS, was completed by the Instructional Media Centre of Carleton University. Everyone who has used it is very pleased with the quality of the production.
   • Discussion of the draft Capacity Study: Directors spent a significant amount of time discussing the contents of the draft report, prepared by the sub-committee composed of representatives from Ontario, Quebec and FMCS. The discussion generated additional information and ideas, which will be included in the report to provide greater context for the conclusions and suggested initiatives. It was observed that the issue is of greater concern in some jurisdictions (e.g., federal, Ontario and Quebec) than in others. At the present time, Alberta, BC and New Brunswick have not identified any recruitment or retention problems. The Committee decided to provide Deputies with a "menu" of options, with initiatives that can be pursued independently or co-operatively, according to the needs of each jurisdiction. The completed Report, in both official languages, will be circulated to all members of the Committee and the Deputy Liaison will table it with the Deputy Ministers' Committee for discussion at their Fall 2006 meeting.
3. Treasurer's Report
   • The Secretary/Treasurer reported that the remake of the 3Rs video came in under budget; as a result, there is a surplus of $2,363.14 from the various video projects available for future projects of this nature. In all, the Labour Relations Committee had a balance of $6,678.95 in the account as of April 30, 2006. The registration fee for the 2007 Directors' Conference was set at $50; this will be used to defray expenses for the 2006 meeting and any surplus will be deposited in the LR Committee account.
4. Quebec promotional video
   • Quebec provided all members with a copy of a promotional video that they recently produced in both languages. The video is very professionally done, and describes the assistance that the mediation service can provide.
5. Bargaining in the education sector
   • Each of the provincial jurisdictions described the bargaining structures in the education sector in their respective province and some of their recent experiences working within these structures. Several common themes emerged:
     • the parties' inability to negotiate, due to the practice/custom that has arisen of simply exchanging positions rather than truly bargaining;
     • the high turnover in bargaining committees and leadership on both sides, and the resultant lack of bargaining experience;
     • the reluctance to seek outside professional assistance (e.g., professional negotiators;
     • tendency to bargain in the media, in an attempt to exert public pressure;
     • the high degree of political attention and involvement that is given to disputes in the education sector.
   • It became apparent that the experiences are similar, regardless of whether the bargaining structure is province wide, regional or by individual school division.
   • The Committee also discussed some "best practices" in dealing with disputes in the education sector:
     • mediators should build relationships with both parties outside of the bargaining context, for example by providing seminars on collective bargaining and familiarizing the parties with the assistance that is available from the mediation services;
     • mediators should establish and maintain good relationships with the representatives of both parties;
     • using techniques that promote improved bargaining, such as setting aside positions and making effective use of "intellectual time" to discuss the issues of greatest concern.
6. Jurisdictional Reports
   • Directors distributed and discussed reports on activities in their respective jurisdictions.
7. Workplan for 2006-2007
   1. Plan and deliver a mediator training program in May 2007. (BC, Quebec and FMCS to co-ordinate). It is anticipated that there could be some 14 participants for a two day course. Topics to include:
      • communications skills;
      • hearing from clients as to their expectations of a mediator;
      • common problems encountered by mediators.
   2. Any follow-up work on initiatives in the Capacity Report that Deputies indicate they wish to pursue cooperatively (may require additional meetings of the Committee during the year).
8. Executive for 2006-2007
   • Chairperson: Doug Forseth (Saskatchewan)
   • Vice-chair: Annette Wall (B.C.)
   • Secretary/Treasurer: Elizabeth MacPherson (FMCS)
9. Location of Meetings for 2007 & 2008
   • This year's meeting was hosted by Prince Edward Island. The Committee extended sincere appreciation to Barry Curley, Ron McMillan and the Government of Prince Edward Island for their hospitality.
   • Future meetings will be held as follows:
     • 2007 – Vancouver, British Columbia (May 3rd & 4th, following the training session to be held on May 1st and 2nd); and
     • 2008 - Ontario