John O'Grady Consulting Ltd.
Economic and Statistical Analysis
Economic and Statistical Analysis
Arbitration and Its Ills (1992)
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Prepared for the Economic Council of Canada. Subsequently published by the School of Policy Studies, Queen's University (1994). Part I surveys the role of arbitration across Canadian jurisdictions. Part II summarizes empirical investigations of compulsory arbitration -"what we think we know about arbitration in the public sector." Ontario's chequered history with compulsory arbitration, from the adoption of the Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act in 1965 to the period just prior to the Social Contract in the mid-90's, is reviewed in Part III. Parts IV and V consider the goals of public policy and the scope for reform.
Beyond the Wagner Act, What Then?
in Daniel Drache, ed., Getting on Track: Social Democratic Strategies for Ontario, McGill-Queen's University Press (1992).
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The paper was one of the first to argue that that the apparent stability of unionization rates in Canada masked an important structural change. Although unionization rates in the public sector increased steadily form the early 1960s to the early 1990s, the opposite trend was evident in the private sector. The paper argued that if this trend were not reversed, it would ultimately lead to a weakening of labour legislation and as well as a weakening of support for social democratic politics. The paper makes a distinctive argument, namely that the decline of private sector unionization is the result of a basic mismatch between the organizational model envisioned in the Wagner Act tradition of labour relations and the long-term shift away from the large workplaces which are the unstated assumption of that tradition. Canada imported the US Wagner Act model when it established the framework for post-war labour relations with Privy Council Order 1003. The paper argues that the decline in private sector unionization cannot be reversed within the confines of the Wagner Act tradition of labour relations. An alternative labour relations tradition - more suited to a private sector that is dominated by small workplaces - is the system of juridical extension found in a number of civil code jurisdictions. Quebec's now repealed Decrees Act was a version - albeit flawed - of the juridical extension model. Juridical extension enables collective bargaining to be extended to the low-paid segments of the labour force for whom the Wagner Act model of representation provides little or no benefit. Since the article was published, unionization rates in the private sector have continued their downward trend.
Comparative Approaches in Preventing Occupational Injuries and Disease (1998)
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Paper presented to the 4th International Congress on Medical-Legal Aspects of Work Injuries. The paper reviews five strategies - regulation, experience-rating of WCB premiums, works councils, individual right to refuse unsafe work and the provision of expert advice.
Current OHS Regime has Limited Capacity to Affect Workplace Health
CLV Reports – Health and Safety Forum – June 16, 1997
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This article, based on a conference presentation, argues that the benefits of the joint responsibility system have largely been reached and that the system is now at its limits. Further advances in workplace safety and health will require a different paradigm.
The Decline of Collective Bargaining in the Private Sector
in Mercedes Steedman, Peter Suschnigg and Dieter K. Buse, eds., Hard Lessons, Dundurn Press (1995).
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The paper argues that the base of unionization in the labour force comprises the manufacturing and resource industries, regulated industries, construction and the public sector. Although these sectors account for only 60% of the work force, they provide almost 90% of union members. Union organizing resources are focussed chiefly on these sectors. However, employment growth is predominantly in the sectors that comprise the other 40% of the labour force, principally the private service sector. The legislative framework by which unions achieve representation rights largely confines organizing activity to the four traditional sectors. Without a change in this framework, secular trends in the composition of the labour force will erode the level of unionization and weaken both the political and economic leverage of unions.
Economic Restructuring and Industrial Relations in the Province of Ontario: Removing the Obstacles to Negotiated Adjustment (1992) - ILO
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Published in Werner Sengenberger and Duncan Campbell, eds., Creating Economic Opportunities: The Role of Labour Standards in Industrial Restructuring, International Institute for Labour Studies / ILO (Geneva, 1994). The paper argues that the industrial relations system is not well adapted to achieving the negotiated changes in work organization that are required to realize potential gains in productivity. The focus of the paper is on the policy framework - both labour market policy and labour relations law - that shapes and limits the bargains over adjustment that can be made at the level of the enterprise.
Interest Arbitration after Bill 26 and Bill 135 (March 1999)
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Reviews the impact of directive legislation regarding "ability to pay" on interest arbitration. Compares trends in negotiated and arbitrated settlements in the police sector in Ontario.
“Internal Responsibility System: Have We Reached the Limits?”
OHS Canada – August/September 1997
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The article argues that it is unrealistic to expect further improvements in workplace health and safety based on the system of internal responsibility. Further advances will require the legislating of new employee rights.
Job Control Unionism vs. the New HRM Model (1995)
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Originally commissioned by the Economic Council of Canada. Subsequently published by the Industrial Relations Centre, Queen's University (1995). The paper argues that the North American tradition of labour relations is rooted in a concept of job control unionism that ties together job demarcations, highly articulated job structures, seniority rights and the system of steward-based, workplace representation. This system is an impediment to new forms of work organization based on team methods of production, pay-for-knowledge, group-based incentives and broader job descriptions. The paper reviews the results of a survey of Ontario collective agreements in the manufacturing sector. The survey tracked changes in the number of job grades over a ten year period. A second survey reviewed seniority and classification clauses to assess changes in union bargaining leverage over the same period. The paper argues that the Kochan paradigm in which unions and management make a "strategic choice" for organizational change will be frustrated by the absence of labour relations law and labour market policy which support this outcome.
Joint Health and Safety Committees: Finding a Balance
in T. Sullivan, ed., Injury and the New World of Work, UBC Press (Vancouver, 2000)
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This paper was originally prepared as a study for the B.C. Royal Commission on Workers Compensation. The paper reviews the empirical literature on the role and impact of joint health and safety committees. The paper compares legislated requirements across provinces in regard to the four principles that support the system of “internal responsibility,” (1) mandated joint committees, (2) a worker’s right to know about hazardous substances used in the workplace, (3) the right of joint committees to inspect and recommend, and (4) the right of individual workers to refuse to perform tasks they judge to be unsafe.
Labour Market Policy and Industrial Strategy after the Free Trade Agreement
Labor Law Journal, CCH, vol. 41, no. 8 (August, 1990)
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The paper argues that in small economies, the domestic impact of trade liberalization is to increase significantly the pressure to intervene in labour markets. This reverses the usual perspective which equates a free trade policy with a laissez-faire domestic policy. While the association of free trade with domestic laissez faire may hold in a large economy, this is not the case in a small economy, such as Canada. The magnitude of the adjustments caused by trade liberalization make de-regulation of the domestic labour market an untenable policy. For a small economy, managing the labour market takes on a greater importance under trade liberalization than under a regime of protectionism. Labour market policies, including human capital development strategies, replace tariffs as the primary instruments of economic sovereignty.
Labour Markets and Deficits
in Roy Adams et al., Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, No Jobs, C.D. Howe Institute (1995)
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This paper was published during the period when deficit reduction was a central objective of federal economic policy. The paper argued that there were two deficits: a fiscal deficit and a social deficit. The social deficit is proxied by the number of unemployed. The paper suggested that the two deficits are intertwined and cannot be addressed in isolation. The social deficit arises from the inability of Canadians in the bottom 40% of the income scale to achieve adequate economic security from the labour market to deal with income losses from illness, disability and unemployment. This insecurity forces them to draw income support from unemployment insurance and welfare. It also drives up health care costs. Exclusive attention to the fiscal deficit exacerbates the social deficit and drives up the costs of income support programs, the health care system and other social supports. Conversely, efforts to address the social deficit, without taking account of the fiscal constraint, trigger interest rate and dis-investment responses that undermine employment and largely negate the effect of increased social spending. The paper concludes that changes in labour relations law and labour standards can shift some of the burden of closing the social deficit onto labour market institutions and thereby provide more scope for restoring fiscal balance. The graph below illustrates the strong correlation between percentage changes in public sector spending (net of interest charges) and percentage changes in the number of persons who are unemployed.
The Social Side of NAFTA: Labour Adjustment, Income Distribution and Labour Standards
in A.R. Riggs and Tom Velk, eds., Beyond NAFTA, Fraser Institute (1993)
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This paper was originally presented to a conference sponsored by the Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C. Subsequently, the paper was presented to a series of conferences held in Canada. The paper argues that, contrary to the predominant view in the business community, the benefits of trade liberalization do not arise primarily from improved access to export markets. Rather, following the classical view of free trade, the chief benefit of free trade arises from the restructuring of the domestic economy to achieve greater efficiencies. To achieve significant benefits from trade liberalization requires significant labour adjustment. The predominant business view, however, deliberately underestimates the role of labour adjustment in realizing the benefits of free trade. Longitudinal evidence concerning workers who are permanently laid off indicates that the costs of labour adjustment are high. Given the importance of labour adjustment to achieving benefits from trade liberalization, labour standards are not just a domestic matter, but are an appropriate component of trade agreements.
Wage and Benefit Trends in the Public Sector
after the "Common Sense Revolution" (June 2000)
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Examines the impact of prolonged wage restraint in the public sector and effect of directive legislation in interest arbitration.