Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, committee members, for inviting me here today to share the views of the Public Service Alliance of Canada on Bill C-60.
I had the pleasure of appearing before this committee last October on the previous budget implementation bill, one that continued cutting important public services that Canadians rely on, such as search and rescue, employment insurance, benefits and services for veterans, food inspection, border security, Canada's national parks, and scientific research, among others.
We asked the government to change the decision on these cuts because we were already seeing the negative impact they were having on Canadian families, communities, and the economy. We wanted the government to be more transparent and to start listening to Canadians before making decisions on the programs and services they rely on. I am disappointed that the latest budget implementation act did not heed these calls for caution. On the contrary, the cuts continue, and with the bill presently before the committee, the government is proposing to extend the damage to public services by adding unnecessary barriers to effective collective bargaining.
Division 17 of the latest budget implementation bill will allow Treasury Board to unilaterally interfere directly in negotiations with crown corporations and their unions. This is not a benign change but one that could have profound consequences for labour relations in crown corporations. The Public Service Alliance of Canada represents over 180,000 members. Of those members, 5,000 work at 19 different crown corporations, including hard-working Canadians at the Bank of Canada, the Canadian Council for the Arts, Canada Post Corporation, and the Royal Canadian Mint, among others.
Injecting a third party into the bargaining process isn't conducive to productive labour relations or collective bargaining. It removes effective control from the parties most directly affected, who know their workplace and the people who work there. The act will require crown corporations to get approval for their bargaining mandate from Treasury Board. It also will give Treasury Board Secretariat the authority to place one of its own employees at the bargaining table to attend and observe, and presumably report back. This will effectively put a chill on any open and frank discussions the employer and the union could have at the table. Cabinet will have the ultimate authority over whether or not to interfere in the bargaining process, which would appear to be a further consolidation of power in the hands of the Prime Minister's Office.
The legislation specifically states that while it can interfere, Treasury Board is not the employer. They will have the power to dictate the mandate for bargaining and can be in the room overseeing the bargaining, but they've washed their hands of any responsibility for having to be accountable for the implementation and responsibilities associated with the agreements or other terms and conditions of employment.
The previous budget implementation bill imposed a similar arrangement with the Canada Revenue Agency, and I speak from personal experience. The CRA and the PSAC component of the union of taxation employees, whose members work at CRA, have had a good working relationship in previous rounds of bargaining. Now, negotiations are dragging on and the absence of a new contract, coupled with the continuing cuts to jobs and services, is creating a toxic environment, one that could be avoided. Employees and the public services they provide to Canadians suffer when the labour relations climate is undermined in this way. It does not lead to more effective delivery of public services, but rather leads to increased stress and conflict in the workplace. It also brings into question the integrity of the bargaining process and raises the question: who are we really bargaining with?
The latest move affects our national museums and the CBC, among others. It could signal an end to the independence of our national cultural institutions. Is this just another way of seeking control over independent institutions that work on behalf of Canadians and not the government of the day?
I'll conclude, Mr. Chair, by saying that this new provision will just compound a worsening problem. I recommend that this committee strike division 17 from the bill and send the government a message that it should honour the collective bargaining rights of the members of the federal public service.
Thank you.