The CAQ government has clear objectives with respect to achieving better productivity and better competitiveness for Quebec businesses. Many stones are turned and turned in order to achieve these goals despite a critical situation of labor shortage.
Automation, business support, international recruitment and requalification of workers are part of the arsenal deployed by the government to achieve these objectives. There remains, however, another important card in their hands. We plead today for an economic shift in thinking at the Ministry of Labour.
In recent years, all governments combined, the Ministry of Labor has mainly had the mission of defending workers. This mission must obviously remain, do not accuse us of saying the opposite! Our environments must remain safe, fair and conducive to the professional accomplishment of all Quebecers, particularly in the context of the upcoming child labor bill.
However, it is clear that our legislation and the authorities regulating work have rarely had the objective of making our communities more flexible and better able to face the challenges brought about by the profound transformations of our economy.
Our workplaces are changing faster than the rules that govern them.
With the current labor crisis, everyone is snapping up what is available and it is legitimate for workers to hope for better working conditions. The positive effects are obvious, but for employers it is essential to find the right balance between attractiveness and competitiveness. It would be hypocritical not to admit that the current pressures of the labor market and financial circles are likely to result in an increase in labor disputes in the coming years.
Refresh labor legislation
As we currently see with the government’s negotiations with public service unions, collective agreement negotiation practices leave little room for innovation and the implementation of new ways of doing things. The practices of the past make it impossible to attack certain specific issues head-on, which become drowned in broader considerations specific to large (too large) scale negotiations. No one is to blame, the structure is thus made and it is together that we must refresh labor legislation.
By analyzing these not very reassuring prospects that are looming on the horizon, we encourage the government and Minister Jean Boulet to think about setting up more rapid, effective, but fair, conflict resolution mechanisms.
We also call on our elected officials to equip the Minister with the power to impose recourse to alternative conflict resolution mechanisms, such as arbitration, when a labor dispute could have catastrophic economic impacts on the Quebec economy and including disrupting supply chains.
Finally, we invite the government to see the Ministry of Labor as an integral part of Quebec’s strategy to ensure Quebec’s economic vitality. All the tools must be made available to workplaces so that they are healthy, safe and fair, but also competitive and able to adjust quickly to emerging issues in Quebec. Reflecting on perfecting our practices is not denigrating the present, it is preparing for the future.