Bill 148, also known as “A Plan for Fair Workplaces and Better Jobs”, received royal assent on November 27, 2017. Many of the changes that Bill 148 covers have been in effect since January 1, 2018, but some of them are still coming into effect at the present. In the previous post, we covered changes to the Employment Standards Act (ESA), which you can read here. This post will cover the changes to the Labour Relations Act (LRA).
Union Certification
Card-based union certification will be established for the building services, home care, community service, and temporary help agency industries. Unions will now be able to access employee lists and certain contact information, as long as the union can show that 20% of the employees already support the proposed bargaining unit. The Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) will now be able to conduct votes outside the workplace, including by phone or electronically. The OLRB can also now give directions about the voting process to make sure that any voting process is neutral.
Consolidating and Restructuring Bargaining Units
The OLRB can now review the structure of Unions in some cases and can consolidate them into a newly certified bargaining unit. Consolidation of bargaining units can only happen if the units are both represented by the same bargaining agent and are at the same employer. The Bargaining units can also make a joint application to consolidate, pending review by the OLRB.
Fines
Maximum fines under the Labour Relations Act have now increased. Individuals found in violation of the LRA can now be fined a maximum of $5,000, and organizations found in violation of the LRA can now be fined up to $100,000.
These changes to the LRA can affect IUPAT members, so please take time to review them and get in touch with us if you have any questions!
