Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and committee members. My name is Kevin Piper. I'm the president and business agent of the Halifax Longshoremen's Association and a representative of the International Longshoremen's Association.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for the invitation to appear before the committee on section 107 and the definition of work in the Canada Labour Code. The longshoring industry in Halifax and the longshoring industry as a whole are concerned about the unprecedented use of section 107.
Section 107 allows ministerial direction without parliamentary process. We see this as bypassing democratic oversight. One of our main concerns is that overreliance could erode bargaining power for unions, as employers may assume that the government will step in as disputes escalate. Section 107 has been used eight times in the last year and a half. Because of this, employers don't need to bargain in good faith, knowing that section 107 will be used to force our members back to work.
What we see as problematic in our industry is that the decision-makers are not at the table with the employers' associations. The shipping lines aren't at the table and the terminal operators aren't at the table. In Halifax that's not the issue, but for my colleagues on the west coast and my colleagues in Montreal, that is the issue. In Halifax we've been very lucky. We haven't had a labour dispute since 1970. We're an anomaly, I guess, but this is not the case for other longshoring industries in Canada.
Good collective bargaining is the cornerstone of labour relations in Canada. Having the decision-makers at the table is essential to good collective bargaining.
Thank you.