Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 362, November 2011

Case No 2257 (Canada) - Complaint date: 18-MAR-03 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 33. The Committee examined the substance of this case at its November 2010 meeting [see 358th Report, paras 31–36]. It concerns the exclusion of managerial staff from Quebec’s Labour Code, which prevents them from forming unions and from enjoying all the associated rights and prerogatives, in particular: a real right to collective bargaining; the right to a dispute settlement procedure in the absence of the right to strike; and the right to legal protection against acts of interference by employers. During its last examination of the case in November 2010, the Committee noted with regret that no progress had been made to amend the Labour Code in order to resolve all these problems, even though more than six years had passed since it made its recommendations. In these circumstances, the Committee strongly urged the Government: (i) to maintain a continuous dialogue with the representative organizations concerned with regard to following up its recommendations; (ii) to report on meaningful progress in the adoption of measures to amend the Labour Code of the Province of Quebec in order to resolve the problems of compliance with the principles of freedom of association that have been raised for many years; (iii) to indicate the status of the guide on good governance, which, according to the Association of Managerial Staff of the Société des Casinos du Québec (ACSCQ), cannot be applied to the managerial staff that it represents; and (iv) to provide its observations on the latest allegations by the ACSCQ, the CNCQ and the CCC.
2. 34. In a communication dated 21 April 2011, the Government of Quebec sent its observations in reply to the Committee’s recommendations. As regards point (i), the Government recalls that the ACSCQ filed an application for certification with the Labour Relations Board (CRT) against the Société des Casinos and that, as part of this application, the ACSCQ also challenges the constitutionality of subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of section 1 of the Labour Code. Accordingly, the Attorney-General of Quebec, acting for and on behalf of the Government of Quebec, is also a party to these legal proceedings, which are still pending. The Government adds that the parties are thus maintaining a certain form of dialogue, which does not rule out the possibility of negotiations, consultations or exchanges of information between the representatives of the parties.
3. 35. As regards point (ii), the Government states that it can only refer to its observations submitted to the Committee in April 2004 in reply to the complaint, in which it stated that, notwithstanding the exclusion from the application of the Labour Code of persons deemed by the CRT to be employed as manager, superintendent, foreman or representative of the employer in his relations with employees (subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of section 1 of the Labour Code), such persons enjoy all the rights and protections under ILO Conventions Nos 87 and 98 and that those Conventions would be observed.
4. 36. As regards point (iii), the Government states that the Société des casinos du Québec is a subsidiary of the Société des loteries du Québec, a public corporation also known as “LotoQuébec”. It adds that the guide on good governance cannot be imposed on public corporations, as the Government has no direct authority to that effect. However, the existence of such a tool provides an opportunity for the Government to exert a positive influence on public corporations in terms of governance, and there is nothing to prevent that tool from serving as a model and ultimately being adopted by those corporations if the employers and workers so agree.
5. 37. Lastly, as regards point (iv), the Government states that the president of the CNCQ requested a meeting with the Minister of Labour on 17 February 2010 to discuss the introduction of a labour relations regime for managerial staff. The Minister replied on 31 March 2010 that he would be unable to meet him in view of the ACSCQ’s challenge against the validity of certain sections of the Labour Code. The president reiterated his request on 12 May 2010, dissociating his organization from the ACSCQ’s action with regard to the application for certification. The director of the Office of the Minister replied on 29 June 2010 that he could communicate with the Deputy Minister to discuss the labour relations regime for managerial staff. The Deputy Minister has not received any request for a meeting from the CNCQ to date.
6. 38. The Committee takes note of the information provided. It notes with regret that, despite the time that has elapsed, no progress has been achieved in the present case since it made its recommendations on the substance of the case concerning the need to amend the Labour Code of the Province of Quebec. In these circumstances, the Committee once again strongly urges the Government to maintain genuine continuous dialogue with the representative organizations concerned with regard to following up its recommendations and to communicate any report issued in that regard. Noting that no ruling appears to have been handed down by the Labour Relations Board of Quebec regarding the application for certification filed on 10 November 2009 by the ACSCQ, either on the application itself or on the constitutionality of subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of section 1 of the Labour Code, the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed without delay of any new development or ruling handed down with respect to the application.