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Bill 17: Farm workers’ right to unionize bad for both farms and employees

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The provincial government’s move to grant farm workers the right to form a union, known as Bill 17, raises concerns about the legislation’s impact on farms and ranches.

While the Alberta Agriculture Farm and Ranch Safety Coalition (AgCoalition) and Alberta’s agriculture industry understand the importance and value of many of these changes in the law, they do not feel the application of the labour code to farms and ranches will result in more healthy, fair or safe workplaces.

In a previous blog post, we presented the straight facts on Bill 17 and unionization in Alberta’s agriculture industry. Now, here is the industry’s perspective on how Bill 17 could affect agriculture in Alberta:

Changes that will affect farmers and ranchers

Alberta’s revised Labour Relations Code will apply to the agricultural sector, and will give waged, non-family employees the ability to unionize — if they choose — and to bargain collectively.

The maximum duration of a union drive has been expanded from 90 days to 180, giving employees and union representatives a much longer period to organize and recruit union membership.

If more than 65 per cent of employees demonstrate an intention to join, a vote is not necessary to certify a union.

The negative impact of unionization  

This hybrid certification process would rob employees of their democratic right to a secret ballot and could result in undue pressure on an employee, either from union representatives or fellow employees, to support unionization. Extensive research shows employees are more honest about their feelings towards unionization when given the opportunity to make the decision privately.

If more than 40 but less than 65 per cent of employees demonstrate an intention to join, a secret ballot vote must be held.

The 65 per cent threshold, combined with the lack of a minimum number of employees required to form a union, could put smaller operations at a particular disadvantage. For example, an operation with three employees could unionize almost immediately — without the knowledge of all employees or the employer — should two employees sign a union card.

The bill proposes to exclude family members from the Labour Relations Code, and will allow government to appoint a Public Emergency Tribunal (PET) to end a dispute and arbitrate an agreement, if a strike or lockout could harm livestock or damage crops.

While the formation of a PET would protect crops and livestock, it could take a long time for a tribunal to form and make a decision, allowing for potential damage to crops and livestock. Removal of the right to strike/lockout would avoid this situation altogether.

Even though it was strongly opposed by agriculture industry members, Bill 17 also introduced first contract arbitration. This type of legislation will damage the industry’s employer-employee relationships and excludes the farming/ranching community from participating in the resolution process.

The government’s Fair and Family-Friendly Workplaces Act information page provides more information on the changes proposed under Bill 17. The AgCoalition has also written an analysis of Bill 17 (PDF.)

And check out this Edmonton Journal op-ed by Ken Kobly, president and CEO of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce for a look at how damaging Bill 17 could be to the economy.

6 straight facts about Bill 17, unions and farms

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The provincial government is proposing changes to Alberta’s labour legislation that could have significant implications for employers and employees. Among the proposed changes are some that relate to the right to form a union.

Discussions about unionization can elicit emotional responses – both from those opposed and those in favour. That can make it hard to find an unbiased source of information, so on this week’s blog we’re providing the straight facts.

Here’s the low-down on the proposed changes:

Unionization on farms

  1. Alberta’s Labour Relations Code will apply to the agricultural sector, and will give wages, non-family employees the ability to unionize if they choose, and to bargain collectively.
  2. If more than 65 per cent of employees demonstrate an intention to join, a vote is not necessary to certify a union.
  3. If between 40 per cent and 65 per cent of employees demonstrate an intention to join, a secret ballot vote must be held for a union to be certified.
  4. The Labour Relations Board will have the authority to certify a union.
  5. There will be a short, mandated timeline for certification (or for certification to be revoked), for early determination of the 65 per cent threshold, and for an expedited vote if the threshold is not met. All votes will be on a set schedule.
  6. Specific amendments will exclude family members from the Labour Relations Code, and will allow government to appoint a Public Emergency Tribunal to end a dispute and arbitrate an agreement, if a strike or lockout could harm livestock or damage crops.

Other proposed changes related to farm operations

Unionization isn’t the only hot topic when it comes to unions and farms. Others include youth employment standards, guaranteed, job-protected leaves and more. Here are the changes that relate specifically to farm and ranch standards:

  • Family members will be exempt from all employment standards when working on the family farm.
  • Minimum wage and youth standards will apply to all waged, non-family employees.
  • All farm workers will be exempt from hours of work and overtime requirements.
  • Waged, non-family employees will be entitled to a day off or straight-time pay on general holidays, or a day off in lieu, and vacation pay will be calculated on total wages, rather than on a maximum of 44 hours per week.
  • If employer and employee can’t agree on days of rest, four days off must be provided for every 28 days worked.

The government’s Fair and Family-Friendly Workplaces Act information page provides more information on the changes proposed under Bill 17. And you can read the concerns expressed by the AgCoalition, here.

Why farm safety starts with people

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Farm safety is a hot topic, and one that’s highly personal for many people in this industry.

As we discussed in ‘How the agriculture sector is pulling together to promote farm safety’, farm safety is unique in many ways. For instance, in no other industry do operators typically live and raise their families in the same place where they work. And in many instances, their employees are their family, friends and neighbours.

And yet, farming is one of the highest risk occupations in Canada. According to Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, there were an average of 17 farm-related deaths per year, between 1985 and 2010.

To put that number in perspective, it’s worth noting two things:

    1. Farm injury statistics do not differentiate between work related injuries on farms, and non-work related injuries.
    2. Because agriculture plays such a large role in Alberta’s economy and there are so many farms, the ratio of fatalities to the number of farms is one of the lowest rates of any province in Canada.

Is legislation the answer?

In Alberta, agriculture was exempt from provincial Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation, but Bill 6 has changed that. OHS now applies to agriculture in Alberta. But there is dispute as to whether simply passing such legislation is really effective in reducing farm injuries. In provinces such as B.C., which included agriculture in OHS legislation in 2005, and Ontario, which did the same in 2006, there has been no significant impact.

In fact, in 2013, 42 per cent of Canada’s farm fatalities were in Ontario, on just 25 per cent of the nation’s farms.

Creating a culture of safety

If legislation has not proven to be the answer, then perhaps the solution must come from within the industry itself. We believe that reducing on-farm injuries and fatalities depends on creating a culture of safety that is built collaboratively by everyone involved in the industry.

This view is supported by recommendations made to the Minister of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (PDF), by the Farm Safety Advisory Council in 2012. They advocated the establishment of a province-wide coordinating body to provide leadership, expertise and direction for farm safety awareness, education, training and certification.

Among their recommendations were an increase in educational resources, training and certification, as well as industry best practices, and government guidelines and policies.

What is safety culture?

Just as corporate culture can be defined by the values, beliefs and attitudes of people within an organization, so safety culture is characterized by the pervading behaviours and attitudes towards safety.

When organizations start to value safety as a practice, and to develop the practices and protocols in support of safe behaviours, then everyone within that organization is safer.

Some recent or ongoing farm safety initiatives with which the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association has been involved include:

For more information, check out the Farm Safety Advisory Council’s Recommendations to the Minister of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, on Enhanced Farm Safety Education and Training.

Stay tuned as we continue to explore farm safety issues in upcoming blog posts. In the meantime, you can read our previous posts on the topic: ‘How safe is farm equipment’, and ‘How the agriculture sector is pulling together to promote farm safety’.

How the agriculture sector is pulling together to promote farm safety

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Since the Alberta Government announced its intention to pass an Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act (Bill 6) there’s been a lot of conversation on the subject, and a great deal of confusion about a complex issue. Read more