Bill C-372 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act (members’ staff)

This bill was last introduced in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session, which ended in August 2015.

This bill was previously introduced in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session.

Sponsor

Chris Charlton  NDP

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of Nov. 30, 2011
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

This enactment amends the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act to ensure that staff of members of the Senate and the House of Commons, who serve them in their capacity as Member of Parliament, Leader, House Leader or Whip, will not be prevented from being included in a bargaining unit. The enactment covers caucus staff, parliamentary committee staff, and staff in a minister’s office who are hired under that Act, but not staff in a minister’s office who are hired under the Public Service Employment Act.
The enactment also prohibits lockouts by employers of their employees and imposes fines on those causing lockouts, thereby bringing consistency to the provisions respecting strikes and lockouts.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations ActRoutine Proceedings

November 30th, 2011 / 3:20 p.m.
See context

NDP

Chris Charlton NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-372, An Act to amend the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act (members’ staff).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have an opportunity to reintroduce my bill to amend the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act. I hope that all members representing all caucuses in the House of Commons will support what is a matter of simple justice.

My bill proposes to amend the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act to ensure that staff of senators and members of the House of Commons who serve in the capacity of member, leader, House leader, or whip, would enjoy the benefit of being permitted, if they so choose, to organize a union, to belong to a union, and to enjoy the benefits of collective bargaining.

I do not need to tell members that this is a set of rights and privileges that is considered fundamental in a modern democratic society such as Canada. In fact, we work long and hard to ensure that those rights are protected and advanced for all working people.

I must say that I was astonished when I arrived on Parliament Hill to discover that only the NDP caucus had voluntarily recognized the organization of its staff on Parliament Hill. In spite of that, they still do not enjoy the full benefits of collective bargaining. It remains true to this day that neither the employer nor the employee enjoys the full recognition of a union or an employer that is engaged in a collective bargaining process, and has obligations that go with that under the current legislation that governs this House.

As I said, this is a matter of fundamental justice, and for that reason, I hope that all members of the House will support my bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)