News Releases
Government Home Search Sitemap Contact Us  

NLIS 3
February 22, 2006
(Fisheries and Aquaculture)
(Human Resources, Labour and Employment)
 

Government to implement collective bargaining recommendations in Cashin report

Tom Rideout, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Paul Shelley, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment and responsible for the Labour Relations Agency, today announced the details of the amendments to the Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act (FICBA). The amendments are being introduced in the House of Assembly tomorrow afternoon, in response to recommendations in the Cashin report and following consultations with representatives of the processing and harvesting sectors.

Minister Rideout said: "Government is following through on our commitment to address the collective bargaining recommendations in the Cashin report, in order to ensure a timely start to the 2006 fishery. Following through on our commitment, we will bring forward amendments to the Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act during a special session of the House of Assembly, starting tomorrow afternoon."

Minister Shelley said: "I am pleased to have the opportunity to bring this legislation forward in the House of Assembly. The proposed amendments will establish a balanced regime for collective bargaining and the setting of fish prices in our province."

Government will proceed with the establishment of a Special Standing Fish Price Setting Panel. The amendments regarding the panel will reflect the spirit of the recommendations made in the Cashin report. However, a slightly modified version of some recommendations will be implemented.

Government has chosen a price setting mechanism that takes into consideration the views of both harvesters and processors. The fish price setting panel will act as an arbitration panel in setting fish prices, when the parties are unable to agree. However, the panel will deal only with issues of price and condition of sales.

Minister Rideout said: "This new legislative and policy framework will provide stability and predictability for the fishery and all those who depend on it. Repeated price disputes between harvesters and processors have led to crises in the fishery on an almost annual basis. This cannot continue and these amendments will contribute greatly to avoiding such disputes in the future."

The panel will consist of three members that will be appointed by government. It will report to the minister responsible for the Labour Relations Agency. Government will be seeking input from the Fish, Food and Allied Workers and the Association of Seafood Producers on individual appointments to the panel.

Minister Rideout said: "Government is providing a framework to facilitate collective bargaining in the fishery. However, harvesters and processors must show the leadership that the Cashin report called for, in order to ensure this approach works for the benefit of all those who depend on the fishery.

"The fishery is the backbone of rural Newfoundland and Labrador. Our government is committed to finding solutions for this troubled industry. Therefore, we will continue to work with the stakeholders to the industry on the other recommendations in the report."

The Cashin Report can be accessed online at www.gov.nl.ca/fishaq/cashinreport and the existing FICBA legislation can be accessed through the table of public statutes link at www.gov.nl.ca/hoa/sr/

Presentation
   -  Overview of Proposed Amendments to the Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act
(PDF)

Media contact:
Lori Lee Oates, ABC, Fisheries and Aquaculture, (709) 729-3733, 690-8403
Alex Marland, Human Resources, Labour and Employment, (709) 729-4062, 690-6047

Backgrounder
Proposed Amendments to the
Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act

The Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act (FICBA) is the legislation that regulates collective bargaining between fish harvesters and processors in Newfoundland and Labrador. The act grants harvesters and processors the right to regular collective bargaining for fish prices and related matters.

A number of amendments to the legislation are proposed based on recommendations in the Cashin report, consultations with both the Fish, Food and Allied Workers and the Association of Seafood Producers, and with government�s own research and analysis.

Special Standing Fish Price Setting Panel
The amendment provides for the establishment of a Special Fish Price Setting Panel whose main functions will be establishing parameters for negotiations, facilitation of collective bargaining and acting as an arbitration panel in the setting of fish prices and the conditions of sale and ultimately setting fish prices when the parties to negotiations have been unwilling or unable to agree.

The panel will be a mechanism for ensuring a timely start to the fishery on an annual basis. However, it will not take away from the ability of the parties to negotiate their own collective agreements.

The panel will use the final offer selection method of setting prices when two duly mandated parties (a certified bargaining agent such as the FFAW and an accredited processors organization or a processors organization producing the majority of a fish species) have not reached an agreement and bring forward a final bargaining position to the panel.

Panel members will be appointed as soon as possible. The panel will be composed of three persons, appointed by government. Government will be seeking input from the FFAW and ASP on panel appointments.

Appointments will be for three years, with the exception of the first appointments. Initially, the chairperson will be appointed for three years with one member being appointed for a year and another for two years. All will be eligible for reappointment.

Government will provide operational funding for the panel, through the budget for the departments of Human Resources, Labour and Employment; and Fisheries and Aquaculture. The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture will also provide staffing support in the area of market intelligence, on an as needed basis.

Strikes and Lockouts
The proposed amendments will prohibit cessation of business dealings and lockouts in the fishery.

The proposed amendments will also provide the Labour Relations Board (LRB) with the authority to declare an unlawful work stoppage and to issue a cease and desist order, which will be enforceable as an order of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition, fines and penalties for unlawful work stoppages will be raised to the level of those contained in the Labour Relations Act.

Accreditation
The bill provides for processor organizations to apply to the Labour Relations Board (LRB) to be accredited to bargain collectively with respect to a fish species. The amendments will also restore the legislative provision that collective agreements reached between harvesters and processors, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the previous year�s production of a species will be binding on all processors licensed for that species or group of species. This will be measured by round weight equivalent of product produced in the previous calendar year.

These amendments will ensure that no producers are unduly advantaged or disadvantaged in the price they can receive for their product. It ensures that collective agreements will be binding on all processors selling the same product and ensures a level playing field within the industry.

Arbitration
The provisions of the bill allow either harvesters or processors to request the appointment of a single arbitrator to resolve an outstanding grievance. The arbitrator will then be required to render the decision within 48 hours of the time of appointment, unless parties agree to an extension.

The bill will also allow for the immediate filing of an arbitration decision with the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador (Trial Division) to ensure its enforceability as a Supreme Court order, 48 hours after doing so.

These timelines are designed to provide a timely resolution to disputes, to ensure that decisions are enforceable under the law and appropriate sanctions exist when orders are not followed.

Labour Relations Board
The FICBA will also be amended to provide parties operating under it with the same access to the Labour Relations Board (LRB) as parties operating under the Labour Relations Act (LRA). The bill provides for application of certain provisions in the LRA to parties to whom the FICBA applies.

The amendments will also provide parties under the FICBA, direct access to the LRB by application or ministerial referral.

The existing FICBA limits the LRB�s ability to address certain questions unless there is a proceeding before the board, involving impacted parties. The proposed amendments will give associations representing fishers or a processor�s organization the opportunity to make direct application to the LRB for determinations on matters contained within section 48 of the act. At present, a matter referred to in section 48 can only be dealt with by the board in the context of a proceeding before it, that began on some other basis.

These changes are designed to ensure that the fishing industry is afforded the same access to the Labour Relations Board as other industries operating in the province.

2006 02 22                                11:10 a.m.


SearchHomeBack to GovernmentContact Us


All material copyright the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. No unauthorized copying or redeployment permitted. The Government assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any material deployed on an unauthorized server.
Disclaimer/Copyright/Privacy Statement