As Canada’s economy recovers and corporate balance sheets improve, unions are becoming more aggressive in trying to win back concessions given up during the recession.
"We’re already beginning to see changes in labour relations," said Guy Dancosse, a labour lawyer in Montreal who represents companies. "My feeling is that some employers may have taken advantage of the [recession] without doing some long-term thinking. That may have created some kind of resentment and unbalance."
During the weekend, Canadian National Railway Co. narrowly avoided a strike by about 4,000 employees but about 2,000 workers at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. are poised to strike next month. The Canadian Auto Workers union, which represents workers at both railways, has been pushing for wage and benefit increases in the wake of improved earnings at the companies.
The union representing letter carriers at Canada Post has also indicated it wants a better cut of the Crown corporation’s profits and has indicated that a strike is possible this spring.
Unions representing public servants across the country have also said strikes are possible as governments look to trim spending to curb rising deficits. In Quebec, unions have started organizing several non-unionized work places, including stores belonging to Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., taking advantage of growing concerns about job security and wages.
"As businesses do start to recover, employees are going to want their slice of that recovery," said Karla Thorpe, associate director of compensation research at the Conference Board of Canada. In its annual outlook for industrial relations, the board predicts labour unrest this year in some areas of the economy that have started to rebound.
Ms. Thorpe added that despite signs of growth, the manufacturing sector is still probably five years away from a full recovery. However, "I don’t think that employees are likely going to be patient enough to wait fully five years to start getting back some of what they gave up during the recession."
Even with the increased union activity, Ms. Thorpe does not expect wages to rise by much this year. The Conference Board is predicting private-sector wage settlements to climb by 2.1% in 2011, compared with 2% last year. Public-sector workers will likely see their settlements increase by just 1.4%, down from 2% in 2010.
Economic recovery "changes the tone at the negotiating table," said Maurice Mazerolle, director of the Centre for Labour Management Relations at Ryerson University in Toronto. Unions start pressing for wage increases, he said, while during recessions the focus is on job security.
However, Mr. Mazerolle doubts the economy is strong enough yet for unions to win major wage gains. "I suspect that the wage demands, although they’ll be there, are going to be somewhat soft. At the end of the day, are members willing to walk out for a wage increase that’s much beyond the cost of living? I suspect not."
Israel Chafetz, a labour lawyer in Vancouver, said companies are now pushing for improvements in productivity, such as mandatory overtime and longer working hours. Mr. Chafetz added that many companies are also still concerned about the viability of company pension plans and will be pushing for benefit changes or contribution increases.
