Bill C-422 (Historical)

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

This enactment amends the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act (“the 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 the Act, but not staff in a minister’s office who are hired under the Public Service Employment Act.
To achieve its objectives, the enactment
(a) amends the Act to ensure that Part I of the Act does not apply to staff who are hired under the Public Service Employment Act;
(b) adds members of both Houses to the definition of “employer”; and
(c) excludes persons employed under the Public Service Employment Act from the definition “employee”, so that the staff in a minister’s office who were hired under that Act are not within that definition.
The enactment also prohibits lockouts by employers of their employees and imposes fines on those causing lockouts. This makes the Act consistent in its provisions respecting strikes and lockouts.
The commencement provision of the Act is amended to ensure that all of the provisions of the Act that have not previously been brought into force will come into force not later than the day on which this enactment comes into force.

Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-422, An Act to amend the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act (members' staff).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce this bill to amend the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act. I want to acknowledge the member for Halifax who has introduced such a bill in the House on a number of other occasions. It is a bill that will allow staff of members of the House of Commons, who serve members in their capacity as member, leader, House leader or whip, to enjoy the benefits, if they so choose, of organizing a union, belonging to a union and enjoying the benefits of collective bargaining. I look forward to speaking further on the bill in the future.

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