Shortly after the United Conservative Party was elected in April 2019, Bill 2: An Act to Make Alberta Open for Business was passed and made a number of changes to Alberta’s labour and employment legislation, including the restoration of mandatory secret ballot votes for certification of trade unions.
Recently, the Government of Alberta released a survey seeking input on additional potential changes to Alberta’s Employment Standards Act.
The Government is now seeking submissions from employers and employees on various topics under the Alberta Labour Relations Code, including:
- certification statutory timelines;
- reverse onus provisions;
- union disciplinary powers;
- early renewal of Collective Agreements;
- strikes, lockouts and picketing;
- powers of the Labour Relation Board and Arbitrators;
- remedial certification;
- consequences of prohibited union practices during certification;
- first contract arbitration; and
- construction labour relations.
Written submissions can be submitted via email until December 20, 2019 by sending feedback in both a PDF and Microsoft Word document to: LabourRelationsConsultation@gov.ab.ca.
The request for written submission suggests that Albertans can expect to see more changes to labour and employment laws in the near future. If you have questions about the changes to the Employment Standards Code and the Labour Relations Code already in force or require assistance amending your policies, our Alberta labour and employment team is happy to help.