Leanne Hachey, CFIB’s Vice President Atlantic, questioned how meaningful those consultations really were.
“All the time and resources and money we spent (on first contract consultations) was all for not,” said Hachey on Wednesday (April 11). “It seemed like it was clear government knew what it wanted to do … long before stakeholders were brought into the process.”
The documents also show the Federation of Labour had been lobbying government — including Rodney MacDonald’s Progressive Conservatives — since at least 2008.
First contract arbitration allows a newly-certified union or their employers to seek third party arbitration in the event of a breakdown in their first contract negotiations. The NDP passed that legislation in December, to the chagrin of the business lobby.
The NDP noted only three jurisdictions in Canada lacked first contract legislation, and played down businesses concerns about the bill.
Metro Halifax
