Mr. Speaker, I am always pleased to speak on motions such as the ones at report stage of Bill C-66. The motions were hopefully introduced to improve the bill, but from our perspective we do not see much being improved by the motions in front of us at the moment.
One of the things I would like to talk about this morning is the concept of contracts with unions should the government divest itself of a department, for example air navigation which will be taken from the government and put into a not for profit organization called Nav Can.
I have a problem with the contract with employees in situations such as these flowing through to the new employer, not just Nav Can but all situations. We are trying to achieve flexibility in management-labour negotiations and responsibilities. If we take the contract that exists today between the government and its
employees we find it is fossilized, if I may use that term. It needs to be brought up to date with modern management techniques.
By entrenching in other sectors such as Nav Can and perhaps the new agricultural food inspection agency, the contract that exists today between the government and public servants guarantees the problems inherent in the contract will remain inherent in the relationship in the new organization. It will prevent the organization from evolving and improving its management efficiency.
We must move to the concept of merit being one of the major criteria by which we evaluate the compensation package we provide to employees. As we open negotiations with the federal public service and government I hope the government recognizes the need for merit, the need to compensate people according to their production and contribution and not according to age or number of years of experience regardless of whether or not they are productive.
The type of motion would continue to entrench the one salary pays everybody, one shoe fits all employees. That cannot be tolerated much longer in the new competitive world we are entering into.
I attended a conference last September in Victoria of people from around the world, for example the auditor general of the United Kingdom and people from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the world. We were discussing accountability in government. It became quite apparent that Canada lags way behind the United Kingdom when it comes to being visionary in the way it will improve the efficiency of government in the years ahead.
The United Kingdom realizes that the role of government primarily is to develop public policy. The implementation of public policy can quite easily be handled by other institutions such as not for profit institutions, competitive institutions and private sector institutions, so the role of government is reduced to its real function of development of public policy.
As the delivery of public services have been spun off into competitive environments, it recognizes the need to protect the current employee and therefore says that the currently existing contract shall flow through to protect current employees in the new institution they are working for. In Canada it could be Nav Can.
The organization by which they are employed has the opportunity to set new terms, new employment conditions and new wage rates for newly hired employees. This is a wonderful way to reach a compromise. It ensures that current employees are protected and are slowly introduced to a competitive environment, giving the competitive institution providing the service the flexibility to deal with its employees in a much more enlightened environment, and giving them the opportunity to introduce the concept of merit that those who work hard get more and those who work less get less.
That is how the private sector is changing. That is why when so many businesses downsize the employees who lose their jobs create new little home based businesses or perhaps larger businesses. Through their flexible working conditions they are able to thrive and prosper in a flexible environment that allows them to make profit, compared with the monolithic dinosaur for which they were working before.
These motions are regressive. They prevent the worker-management relationship from evolving into a much more competitive and dynamic relationship. Opportunities to improve the working environment, to recognize the efficient and hard working employee and to compensate people who deserve the best compensation are being denied through these motions.
That is why the Reform Party is opposed to the motions we are dealing with in group No. 2. The rationale I have found in my experience is that we need to give flexibility, opportunity, motivation and desire to every worker so they do the best they can. When they are locked into one contract that fits all they lose motivation. They find they cannot break through and be the best they can be.
I hope the government, not only in Bill C-66 but in its relationship with its employees, will recognize the need for new enlightened management-labour relationships is long overdue.