EDMONTON-Alberta's largest union organization, the Alberta Federation of Labour, weighed into the debate over skills shortages today by unveiling a detailed new policy paper, entitled "Beyond Chicken Little: Understanding the Need for Measured Reforms to Alberta's System for Skills Training." (Access the report here)

The policy paper was submitted to the provincial government as part of a process aimed at developing a new ten-year framework for labour force development in the province.

"These days, when it comes to discussions about the labour force in Alberta, it's hard not to be reminded of the old children's fable about Chicken Little," says AFL president Gil McGowan.

"No matter who you're talking to, they all seem to be saying that the sky is falling. That's why we think our policy paper is so important. It shows clearly that the sky is not falling - and that there is really no justification to embrace the radical solutions being put forward by some employers and employer groups."

Among other things, the AFL paper uses current statistics to question the notion that Canada has "run out" of skilled trades people. It also highlights serious deficiencies in our current system for apprenticeship training which, if rectified, could greatly increase the number of Alberta trades people available for work.

"Unfortunately, when it comes to the skills shortage, most of our leaders in business and government have misdiagnosed the problem," says McGowan. "And as with anything, if you haven't identified the problem correctly, you probably won't be able to find the proper solutions. With our paper, we hope to put the government on the right track."

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For more information call:

Gil McGowan, AFL President   @   (780) 915-4599

 

Workforce Facts

1. Is Alberta actually short of skilled construction workers?

Alberta has an extremely tight labour market in particular skills, and the cost of labour is rising as a consequence. However, there is no evidence available, aside from unreliable anecdotal stories,  that there are actual shortages of any single skill. Nor will the province likely be short of workers in the near future. Government and employer estimates show no real shortages (where demand for a particular skill situation actually exceeds supply) between now and 2009.

The Alberta Construction Workforce Development Forecasting Committee (CWDFC) is a collaborative effort between business and government - involving the Alberta Construction Contractors and Labour Organizations, the Construction Owners Association of Alberta, Alberta Advanced Education, Alberta Human Resources and Employment and Alberta Economic Development.

The CWDFC actually predicts very small surpluses of all construction trades workers throughout the period. For example, this year the Committee predicts a demand for 5980 plumbers and a supply of 6320; a demand for 3655 steamfitter/pipefitters and a supply of 3498; and a demand for 382 boilermakers with a supply of 411.

2. How long will this tight labour market for construction workers last?

Government and employers predict massive reductions in construction workforce demand by 2009. The CWDFC predicts that the construction workforce employed on major projects in Alberta will fall from 24,050 in 2008 to 8,800 in 2009. That means 15,000 fewer skilled construction workers will be employed on major projects in Alberta inn 2009 than the year before. In fact, the Committee predicts double-digit unemployment rates for most trades in 2009.

This shows the extreme volatility of construction employment - from 24,000 working one year to less than 9,000 working the next. Rapid swings in employment like this have made it extremely difficult for apprentices to complete their training in Alberta. Apprentices are often the last hired and the first let go - and without work, there is no apprenticeship the way things currently operate.

3. There are skilled Canadian construction workers who cannot work in Alberta.

For many construction trades, workers must be certified before they can work in Alberta. That means passing Alberta journeyperson exams or, alternately, getting the national Red Seal certification - which allows Canadian skilled tradespeople to work in any province in Canada. Any skilled worker in Canada can take the Red Seal exams.

However, only 16 % (184,000) of skilled workers in the Red Seal trades have their national certification. That leaves nearly a million (968,670) skilled workers who cannot carry move freely from province to province to work. This represents a huge untapped source of skilled workers for Alberta.

For example, there currently 56.3% of all plumbers (20,529) in Canada do not have their Red Seal. As well, 99 % of all ironworkers (9,893) and 84% of all industrial electricians (27,744) have no national certification.

4. How efficient is the Alberta apprenticeship system?

The public school system in Alberta views a 25% failure to complete rate a disgrace at the high school level. By contrast, over half (57.3%) of all apprentices in Alberta fail to complete their apprenticeship within the optimum program time. Even after eleven years, the failure to complete rate is over 40%.

The Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry training Board claims that 75% of apprentices complete their training - however, the Board does not include apprentices who fail to complete their first year in their calculations. That is like a high school not counting anyone who fails to finish grade 10 in their overall failure rate.

5. Do employers fully support the apprenticeship program?

Only 18 % of Canadian employers take on and train young apprentices - although 41 % of all employers had the capacity to do so - according to a recently released joint study by the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum and Skills Canada.

6. What about skills shortages in other areas?

Although there are skills shortages in various other sectors, the most notable is health care - where there has been a province-wide - and in fact global shortage of registered nurses for a decade. There is an extremely tight labour market, paralleling the current construction industry situation, throughout the technical and professional health care occupations. In 2005, the unemployment rate for professional healthcare occupations was 0.5% and the unemployment rate for related technical occupations was 0.3%.

Ireland has, since 2002, made tuition free for nursing students. Alberta does not have enough nursing seats at post-secondary schools to even begin to meet the predicted future demand for registered nurses.

Read the Policy Paper

Last year in Alberta 143 workers were killed because of work. This is the highest number of fatalities in 25 years, and the sixth worst in Alberta's 101 year history.

Every year Albertans, along with hundreds of thousands of people around the world, mark April 28 as the International Day of Mourning. It is a day to remember the needless loss of life at work and to reflect on what we can do to prevent such tragedies.

It is important to take time to stop and remember. But for those of us who have worked on occupational health and safety for many years, April 28 has also become a day of great frustration.

Things are not getting better. In fact they are getting worse. We aren't learning any lessons from the loss of life.

Signs of Alberta's latest economic boom are everywhere - new construction, industry expansion, job openings popping up like dandelions. But with the boom we also see an increase in injuries and deaths. The Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) reports that last year there were 170,000 recorded accidents in Alberta - a rate of almost 500 per day.

In this boom employers are scrambling just to keep up with the demand. Focus is on getting the work done. Unfortunately, safety is one of the first corners cut. Far too often I hear the excuse "there isn't enough time to do things safely".

Cutting corners during a boom is one problem. The other is when the boom ends. In tougher times, companies tighten their belt, and safety is one of the first budget items cut. Safety is deemed too expensive.

It makes one ask, when is the right time to make safety a priority?

The picture is even worse than official records indicate. Cancer caused by workplace exposure to cancer-causing substances like asbestos, benzene or carbon affects thousands of workers - and their suffering is not recorded by the WCB or the provincial government.

According to WCB statistics, the WCB accepted 29 new claims for work-related cancer and recognized 38 fatalities due to occupational cancer in 2005.

However, the Alberta Cancer Board estimates that 8% of all cancers in Alberta are work-related. This means over 1,000 new cases of work-related cancer are diagnosed and more than 400 workers die of occupational cancer each year.

Fewer than one in ten occupational cancer fatalities are recognized by the WCB. I consider this a moral outrage.

What about the government? Isn't it their job to protect worker safety? You may have seen the government's ads with pictures of workers doing unsafe things with the word "stupid" in big print. The government's response to the rash of workplace injuries is to call workers "stupid".

The government's main job is to enforce the Health and Safety Act, which lays out rules every employer and worker are supposed to obey. Except that there are fewer than 90 enforcement officers to inspect more than 150,000 workplaces in Alberta. There is no way a handful of officers can keep an eye on even a small fraction of Alberta workplaces. As a result, enforcement is virtually non-existent.

The government refuses to publish the names of employers with the worst safety records so workers can protect themselves. They refuse to prosecute any but the most serious infractions.

The end result? The number of deaths keeps climbing.

We have created a system designed to save money rather than save lives.

The incentives in the system are cost-based, rather than safety-based. Employers earn WCB premium reductions for reducing the amount of time workers lose at work due to accidents. Employers can minimize disruptions to productivity through modified work and case management.

In both cases, an employer can save significant money without actually making their workplace any safer. Implement an aggressive modified work program - which gives injured workers alternative work to perform - and watch your WCB costs drop. However, you can achieve the goal without a single accident being prevented.

Government regulations are quite detailed at protecting workers from falls or collisions. But the lack of enforcement undermines their effectiveness. And the regulations are virtually silent in protecting workers from exposure to chemicals that will lead to cancer down the road.

Workers have an important role in working safely. They need to work safe, and watch out for co-workers. But there is only so much a worker can do to prevent accidents. Workers don't have the power to lower fugitive benzene emissions, or reduce their exposure to damaging noise or other hazards. That power rests with employers and the government.

And employers and the government simply aren't prepared to take the bold steps necessary to bring a halt to workplace death. As a consequence, every year we are forced to remember increasing numbers of workers killed because of work. And every year we fail to learn the lesson of 143 workers dying needlessly because we put our priority on profit rather than people's lives.

Time to heed the lesson. Time to get serious about stopping the scourge of workplace death.

Jason Foster, AFL Executive Staff
April 2006

The so-called Third Way in health care may be Premier Klein's "hobby horse" - but Health Minister Iris Evans shouldn't feel obliged to hop on board, says AFL president Gil McGowan.

In his presentation to the health care hearings being conducted by Evans, McGowan warned today that the Third Way could end up costing Alberta businesses a bundle.

"If the government shrinks the Medicare umbrella, workers - both union and non-union - will have no choice but to push for increased health benefits from their employers," said McGowan.

"And employers, especially in Alberta's current tight job market, will have no choice but to comply in order to attract and retain employees. For public sector employers, this will mean less money left in their budgets to pay for the services they provide. And for private sector employers, it will mean reduced profits."

To understand just how costly the Third Way might be to employers, McGowan asked Evans to consider that the average cost for health benefits in Canada is currently about $930 US per employee per year. In the States, the average cost is $5,500 US for single employees and more than $10,000 per year for employees with families.

"Private health insurance costs have been literally eating American businesses alive," said McGowan. "The bottom line is that Medicare, as it is currently constituted, lowers costs for our businesses and gives them a huge economic advantage when competing with their American rivals. Creating a new tier of private insurance in Alberta will substantially reduce that advantage."

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For more information call:

Gil McGowan, AFL President   @   (780) 915-4599

Fast Facts on Private Health Insurance

Private health care costs more. Canada's single-payer public system pools risk, thereby lowering cost. Our public health insurance system also has very low administrative costs (less than 2%). This helps explain why the Americans - who rely on private insurance - spend 16 percent of their GDP for a health care system that leaves 48 million people without coverage. We spend about 9 percent of our GDP on a much more comprehensive system.

Private health care has a much worse track record of cost containment than public health care. Costs in the public system have been going up, but not nearly as much as costs in the for-profit health care sector. In the U.S., private health insurance premiums have been rising at an average rate of more than 10 percent a year for each of the past seven years. The only way private insurers have been able to stop costs for completely spiralling out of control south of the border is by denying more people coverage, reducing the scope of coverage for those who are enrolled in plans and by charging ever-increasing deductibles and co-payments.

Private health insurance companies make money by not be giving people the care they need - but by denying it. In the U.S., people with pre-existing conditions are routinely denied coverage. Even with those with coverage, some studies suggest that up to 30 percent of claims are denied. This is already happening with supplemental coverage in Canada. In other words, private health insurers often exclude the people who need it most.

The companies most likely to step in and provide expanded private health insurance here in Alberta are the same American companies that have been found guilty of fraud on an almost mind-boggling scale. Columbia/HCA, for example, was fined $745 million for fraud. Tenet Health Care was fined $683 million. Even AON, the private insurance company that your government contracted to draft this framework, was fined $190 million. Are these really the people we want to turn to as saviours?

Private health insurance will hurt Alberta employers. The average cost for health benefits in Canada is currently about $930 US per employee per year. In the States, the average cost is $5,500 US for single employees and more than $10,000 per year for employees with families. Canadian Medicare, as it is currently constituted, lowers costs for our businesses and gives them a huge economic advantage when competing with their American rivals. Creating a new tier of private insurance in Alberta will substantially reduce that advantage.

Private health insurance will give an advantage to large employers over smaller employers when it comes to attracting and retaining workers - because the large employers will more easily be able to afford extended health benefits. This advantage will be particularly problematic for small business in the current tight labour market.

Less than 35 percent of Alberta workers (582,000) currently have access to supplemental health benefits through work. These are the people most likely to received increased benefits to cover the new tier of private service that the Third Way would create. Everyone else will have to make do with the second-class public system. Even if you add in the families of workers covered by private insurance, more than 50 percent of the Alberta population will be left without supplemental insurance.

Costs for extended private health insurance could easily run into the hundreds of millions. One way to estimate the cost would be to look at monthly cost being projected by Accure Health, the private insurance firm associated with Jim Dinning. They're planning to offer a plan that will cover access to services like hip and knee replacements - at a cost of $70 per month. So if all 582,000 Albertans who currently have extended health benefits are successful in getting that kind of coverage - that would translate into an extra cost to employers of about $41 million a month and more about $492 million a year. And that's just for the one procedure - costs would be higher if more services are de-listed or opened up for private payment.

EDMONTON-Alberta unions are up in arms after learning about an "unethical and probably illegal" scheme to bust the union at a prominent Edmonton printing company.

"It's bad enough that they've fired all the employees and handed their jobs to non-union workers," says Gil McGowan, president of Alberta's largest union organization, the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"But to do it on Family Day, when most of the employees were at home enjoying time with their families, is simply reprehensible."

McGowan says the owners of Ed-Web have miscalculated if they thought they could get away with the firing because of the relatively small number of employees involved.

"This may be a small group of workers, but the basic principles involved are huge," says McGowan.

"We may not have the best labour laws in the country, but even here in Alberta it is illegal for employers to close down a union shop and open up across the street with a new, non-union work force. That's exactly what's happened here - and we simply won't allow them to get away with it."

Ed-Web managers informed the union of the firings late in the afternoon on Family Day. Fifteen press room workers and five bindery workers - all members of the Communication, Energy, Paperworkers Workers union Local 255-G - received formal pink slips the next day.

"This was a huge shock to all of us," says local union president Ray Wade. "These were decent, family-sustaining jobs. The union has worked with the company to make this a profitable operation for more than 30 years. This clearly isn't about economics - it's about busting the union."

Wade says the firings are particularly difficult because several of the affected workers have young families.

"One of our guys was just getting back on his feet after losing his home in the St. Albert condo fire in December. He's got a wife and a baby. This is just devastating for them," says Wade.

Ed-Web is part of a larger printing conglomerate that includes Edmonton-based Central Web and Calgary Colour Press in Calgary. Ed-Web is best known for printing the popular Trader publications and the various renters' guides. The work done by union members at Ed-Web has now been transferred to a new press at the non-union Central Web plant.

McGowan says the Ed-Web case is significant because it strikes at the heart of the right that workers have to join union and bargain collectively.

"The Supreme Court has ruled that Canadians have a constitutional right to belong to unions. But that's an empty right if employers can simply fire union members at will and replace them with non-union workers. That's why the broader labour movement is taking a big interest in this case - the Ed-Web worker's fight is our fight."

NOTE TO ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: AFL President Gil McGowan and local union president Ray Wade will be on the picket line outside Ed-Web at noon today. Ed-Web is located at 14101-128 Ave. TV and photo editors may be interested to note that a large FOR LEASE sign has already been erected outside the building.

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For more information call:

Gil McGowan, AFL President    at 780.915-4599 (cell)

or

Ray Wade, President, CEP Local 255-G   at 780.668-6400 (cell)

EDMONTON-Documents recently filed with the Court of Queen's Bench in Edmonton show that the provincial cabinet used its power to over-ride existing labour law in a bid to help a major oil sands developer avoid having to operate under the provisions of duly negotiated construction agreements.

"What the documents reveal is a disturbing pattern of collusion between CNRL, the government and CLAC," says McGowan. "CNRL hatched the plan, the government paved the way and CLAC allowed themselves to be used as a pawn - all in an effort to reduce the paycheques of skilled construction workers and deny them the right to join or belong to unions of their own choice."

The documents also show that the developer - Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. of Calgary - believes the special deal it got from the government will allow it to bar its workers from joining or switching unions for the tens years it expects will be needed to build the $10.8 billion Horizon mine and heavy-oil up-grader near Fort McMurray.

"This is not just a case of an employer engaging in hard bargaining," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta's largest union organization, the Alberta Federation of Labour. "It's a case of the government outright breaking its own rules in an effort to help a large energy company pick the pockets of thousands of Alberta trades people. And in the process, they're attempting to unilaterally strip people of their democratic right to join a union."

"It's shocking that a company would dream up this kind of scheme. But what's even more shocking is that the government would allow itself to become a willing accomplice. It makes you ask: whose interests is the government really looking out for - big oil or ordinary citizens?"

Last May, the provincial cabinet approved an application from CNRL to grant the Horizon project special designation under Division 8 of the Alberta Labour Code. This meant CNRL could, by signing an agreement with the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), avoid the master agreements negotiated between building trades unions and the provincial construction owners association.

Shortly after special designation had been granted, CNRL signed a labour agreement for the Horizon project with the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC). The CLAC agreement - which workers have never been given an opportunity to vote on - includes weakened provisions on things like overtime which will substantially reduce the potential earnings of tradespeople. The agreement explicitly purports to modify Building Trades agreements.

"The court documents make it clear that, right from the beginning, CNRL's intention was to sign a deal with CLAC that would over-write the agreements negotiated by the traditional building trades unions," says McGowan. "But the only way they could do that was to get the government to step in and change the rules. Unfortunately, that's exactly what the government did. CNRL wanted a sweetheart deal with CLAC and the government helped them get it."

Late last year, a group of traditional building trades unions applied for a judicial review of the cabinet's decision to grant special status for the Horizon project. It is as part of that court review that the current package of documents has been made public. The documents - included in what is called the government's official "return" or response to the court - includes letters between CNRL and the government; the official application from CNRL for special designation under Division 8; and various briefing notes to the cabinet and the provincial Minister of Human Resources. Hearing dates for the case have been set for late May. (Copies of the documents can be obtained from the AFL office).

In the meantime, McGowan is urging the government to voluntarily revisit its decision on the Horizon project - in the name of fairness and in the hopes of promoting labour peace.

"These revelations are explosive - and they have the potential to severely disrupt the labour relations climate in Alberta," says McGowan. "Our members want to get on with the job of building this province and strengthening the provincial economy. But we simply can't stand idly by and let big oil companies get away with these kinds of deliberately provocative actions."

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For more information contact:

Gil McGowan, AFL President     at 780.483-3021 or 780.915-4599 (cell)

NOTE:  Copies of the court documents can be obtained by phoning the AFL at 483-3021

EDMONTON-Documents released by the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) and Alberta Building Trades Council (ABTC) show that Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL), the lead partner in the Horizon oil sands development, is planning to use temporary foreign workers from China for part of its project. CNRL is also pressuring the workers to join the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), a union at odds with the rest of the labour movement for its employer-friendly tactics.

CNRL is tendering its "tank farm" work, and there remain only two competitors - both Chinese contractors who intend to use primarily Chinese workers. Importing foreign workers for general construction work is normally not allowed under Canadian rules. CNRL is attempting to get around the prohibition by using a rarely used, specialized exclusion for "warranty work". In addition, CNRL, in minutes of a clarification meeting with one of the bidders, indicated "CNRL highly recommend HQCEC [the Chinese company] join the CLAC labour group."

"CNRL continues its efforts to intentionally undermine the wages and working conditions of workers in the oil sands," says Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan. "Their attempt to bend rules to allow heavy use of temporary foreign workers from China, and then try to force them to join CLAC, is just the latest in their provocative moves."

McGowan notes that CNRL is the company behind the controversial decision by the Alberta government to invoke Division 8 - which excludes the project from most of the labour relations rules in construction and allows the company to work with only one union. CNRL set up the project with CLAC, widely seen as an employer-friendly union.

"There are Canadian workers available to do the work that CNRL wants done," says Paul Walzack, Executive Director of the Alberta Building Trades Council. "We can provide the workers CNRL needs, but CNRL has decided that they want to push down wages and working conditions on this project by taking advantage of Chinese workers."

"We fail to see the necessity of this move, other than an attempt to prevent workers from receiving their fair share, and their right to choose their own union," says Walzack.

"Suggesting to a contractor which union their workers should join is bordering on illegal," says McGowan. "Employers are supposed to stay neutral on workers� decision whether to join a union, or which union they join."

Both McGowan and Walzak are calling on the provincial and federal governments to prohibit CNRL from importing Chinese workers for this project. Both also suggest that there are enough unionized boilermakes and pipefitters to complete this job with Canadian workers.

"CNRL is demonstrating its blatant lack of regard for its workers, and for the province of Alberta. All in the name of greed." McGowan concludes.

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For more information contact:

Gil McGowan, AFL President     at 780.483-3021 or 780.915-4599 (cell)
or
Paul Walzack, ABTC Executive Director   at 780.421-9400 or 780.405-6147 (cell)

The Alberta Federation of Labour today reacted to news that Human Resources Minister Mike Cardinal has backed away from a promise to hold a public consultation on first contract arbitration by calling the backtrack perplexing and disappointing.

"In the aftermath of the Lakeside Strike, the Minister was listening to our sound arguments about first contract arbitration," says AFL President Gil McGowan. "He promised to establish a consultation. Now, a scant three months later, the promise goes up in flames. It is very disappointing."

"I would like to say it surprises me, but the Conservatives show time and time again that they have no interest in finding practical solutions to labour relations problems. It is frustrating."

First contract arbitration is a provision in labour law that allows for binding independent arbitration to settle disputes over a first collective agreement that have become bogged down. The provision is proven to reduce the number of strikes and prevent the kind of violent picket lines we saw in Brooks last fall. In 2002 alone, 41 strikes in four provinces were avoided due to first contract arbitration. Alberta is one of only three provinces without the provision.

"It is perplexing that this government will not consider an amendment that could bring workplace peace and reduce the chances of another Lakeside," notes McGowan. "It is particularly disappointing that Mike Cardinal is backtracking on his promise to consult with Albertans. They should at least talk to the public."

In November, Mike Cardinal promised a "pretty intensive consultation with the public" (Calgary Sun, November 6) on first contract arbitration.

McGowan says the AFL won't give up easily. They will continue to lobby MLAs and make the argument that first contract arbitration is an idea that works for all parties - including employers and the government.

"We will continue to talk about this issue and get it put on the agenda, one way or another."

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For more information contact:

Gil McGowan, AFL President at 780.915-4599 (cell)

 

EDMONTON-In ongoing revelations in the scandal regarding Bill 27 and the Labour Relations Board (LRB), the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) released documents today contradicting public statements made by Human Resources and Employment (HRE) and a lawyer with McLennan Ross regarding emails between an LRB Vice-Chair and the government about the drafting of Bill 27.

A letter from the FOIP Coordinator for HRE, released by the AFL today, suggests the department had hired no outside lawyer to offer legal services on Bill 27. This directly contradicts public statements made by the department and the lawyer in question.

"If the lawyer copied in the emails about Bill 27 was not working for HRE, who was he working for?" asks AFL President Gil McGowan.

Documents made public earlier this month show the Vice-Chair of the LRB emailing officials at HRE with a draft of Bill 27 regulations. In the email, a lawyer with McLennan Ross, Damon Bailey, was copied. McLennan Ross is a prominent employer-side labour law firm. At the time, the AFL raised alarm bells about this, saying it proved employers had played an active role in developing Bill 27, an openly anti-union labour law. But both HRE and Damon Bailey stated publicly that Bailey was working for HRE , not health care employers, at the time.

However, a letter from the FOIP Coordinator for HRE contradicts these statements. In January, 2005, the AFL's lawyer made a FOIP request for records "documenting the engagement of any outside (non-government) legal counsel and/or law firm by the Department, the Minister or Minister's staff" regarding Bill 27. In March, the FOIP Coordinator responded by saying: "I regret to inform you that a thorough search by Human Resources and Employment has failed to retrieve any records responsive to your request."

"We asked if HRE hired any outside lawyers to help with Bill 27 and were told there were no records," says McGowan. "No records usually suggests no contract. There would be an invoice or piece of paper of some kind."

In a letter to the editor published in the Edmonton Journal on December 7, Damon Bailey says: "My only involvement with Bill 27 was to provide technical assistance and expertise to the department of human resources and employment."

"If Bailey was working for HRE, then the Department deliberately withheld documents from a FOIP request," McGowan inquires. "If there were no documents, then Bailey was not working for the department, and this raises the question why he was copied on sensitive emails."

The AFL intends to ask the Privacy Commissioner to investigate this contradiction, and continues to press for all the documents related to Bill 27 to be released. "The only way to clear the air at the LRB is to let everyone see the documents and find out what happened." McGowan concludes.

Copies of the documents released today are available here. Look under the media release section.

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For more information contact:
Gil McGowan, AFL President at 780.915-4599 (cell)  or  780.483-3021 (wk)

 

[Edmonton] The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) today released documents it received through a FOIP request that show the Alberta government actively involved only the Alberta Restaurant and Foodservices Association (ARFA), the main lobby group for restaurant employers, in the drafting of a new policy relaxing rules allowing 12-year-olds to work in restaurants.

In an email dated March 15, 2004 between government officials, it says "we have approval to proceed with the proposed changes for the adolescent permit process, subject to us getting ARFA on side." Other documents proceed to show that one, and possibly two, meetings occurred between HRE officials and ARFA in April 2004.

These meetings occurred 15 months before the implementation of the policy on June 3, 2005. They are the only consultations recorded in the documents - no other group appears to have been contacted. Employment Standards rules were changed earlier this year to allow restaurants to hire 12 and 13 year-olds without asking government permission.

"The significance of these documents is they show the government went out of its way to make sure a policy satisfied a particular set of employers, at the expense of workers and the general public," says AFL President Gil McGowan. "They did not consult with any other stakeholder. They did not hold public consultations. Just a behind-closed-doors meeting with the employer association followed by a quiet, under-the-radar-screen implementation."

"In 15 months, the only group HRE could get around to contacting was the employer organization?" asks McGowan.

"A policy that has wide-ranging ramifications for Albertans, and the only people they can think to consult is the employers? It is like changing smoking laws and only consulting the tobacco industry."

McGowan suggests the documents are just the latest evidence of a one-sided approach to policy making by the Conservatives. "For the Conservatives, the needs of employers are paramount, which means the interests of the rest of us take a back seat. This is how bad policy is created - and the 12-year-old policy is clearly BAD policy."

"There is a culture of one-sidedness in this government," McGowan points out. "At the LRB, Chairs are drafting legislation with employer lawyers to rip up collective agreements. In Employment Standards, officials are holding closed-door sessions with employers to craft policy putting 12-year-olds to work. What kind of democracy is this?"

The documents also reveal:

• HRE Officials informed restaurant employers of the change three days before informing their own staff
• HRE Officials actively participated in disseminating information about the change, including writing articles for ARFA's newsletter before the policy was implemented
• The Human Resources Minister was informed of the policy proposal in February of 2004, contradicting public statements made by Mike Cardinal
• Policy deliberations began as early as September 22, 2003 - a full 21 months before the policy was implemented

The AFL will be pressuring the government for more transparency and even-handedness in future policy changes. The AFL continues to oppose the new rules regarding 12-year-olds, and renews its call for its repeal.

"The government tried to downplay this issue as simply a small administrative change. The FOIP documents reveal quite the opposite. They knew it was a controversial issue and they intentionally kept the public in the dark." McGowan concluded.

NOTE: Copies of the relevant FOIP documents are available from the AFL office at (780)483-3021. See here for Timeline of Records below.

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For more information contact:

Gil McGowan, AFL President at 780.915-4599 (cell)  or  780.483-3021 (wk)

AFL FOIP Request Documents

Adolescents in Restaurants

Timeline of Key Points in Process

The AFL's FOIP Request was for all records pertaining to the decision to amend the permit process for the hiring of adolescents in restaurants. 320 pages were responsive. 128 pages were removed in their entirety.

September 22, 2003
First discussion about changing the policy (handwritten notes, p. 6)

January 14, 2004
First draft policy appears to be circulated among HRE staff

February 24, 2004
Advice to Minister sent on issue

March 15, 2004
Policy approved internally, email saying proposal is "subject to us getting ARFA on side" (p. 58)

April 8, 2004
Date of meeting between HRE staff and representatives of ARFA to discuss policy change (p. 88)

April 22, 2004
Possible second meeting (or re-scheduling of first meeting) with ARFA representatives

May 16, 2004
No decision made, but proceeding with proposal (p. 98)

May 27, 2005
HRE staff prepare newsletter article for ARFA (p. 103)

June 3, 2005
New rules take effect

June 3, 2005
Letter to ARFA members (employers) informing of the new policy (p 227-229)

June 6, 2005
Email to restaurant industry association informing of new process, including reference that HRE's "Partnership Consultant has also been in contact with your regarding this new process." (p. 130)

June 6, 2005
Memo to HRE Employment Standards staff informing of policy change

 

[Edmonton] The Alberta Federation of Labour has won the first round in its efforts to force the Alberta Labour Relations Board to release all pertinent documents surrounding Board involvement in writing labour regulations.

The Court of Queen's Bench decided late yesterday that the AFL had the right to retain the Board documents forwarded to them by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commission. These documents, which the Board tried to suppress, strongly support the AFL's argument that the Board acted improperly during the drafting and implementation of Bill 27 - one of the worst pieces of labour legislation in Alberta's history.

"This is a clear victory for common sense," says AFL President Gil McGowan. "We had received those documents properly and distributed them to our members. The documents had been reprinted in the media. Trying to suppress them at this point was entirely unreasonable."

"We are now calling upon the Board to release all of the other hundreds of documents relating to Bill 27 which they are still trying to suppress," says McGowan. "The Board keeps claiming it has done nothing wrong - but why then are they still trying to withhold information?"

McGowan insists that the public has a right to know all of the information about actions taken by the Board around Bill 27. "Many thousands of Albertans were hurt by Bill 27", says McGowan. "If the Board that is supposed to be the impartial referee acted wrongly, Albertans not only need to know - they need to see the wrongs redressed."

The AFL has called upon the Premier to institute a full public inquiry into the matter. "We have asked for a full public inquiry headed by an expert from out-of-province with full powers to subpoena documents and compel witness" says McGowan. "It is the only way we can be sure justice will be done."

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For more information contact:
Gil McGowan, AFL President at 780.915-4599 (cell)  or  780.483-3021 (wk)