Topic: Bill would help unionize RCMP

[Slim]

I know that we have some members of the force on this site so I thought I'd throw this up when I saw it.

Sat, January 29, 2005


Bill would help unionize RCMP


By BILL RODGERS, OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2005/01/29/913667-sun.html

RANK-AND-FILE Mounties will take another stab at getting their own union. Canada's national police force has been prevented from unionizing by the federal government, but a Conservative senator will introduce a bill next week that would open the door to an organizing drive.

Pierre Claude Nolin says his bill would "radically modernize" labour relations for RCMP officers by allowing them, for the first time in the history of the storied force, to vote on certifying a police association to represent them in collective bargaining.

It would also reform the RCMP Act governing grievances and disciplinary action to make the process more impartial and independent.

Canadians, however, wouldn't see the more than 13,000 Mounties manning the picket lines in a contract dispute. Nolin's bill does not give them the right to strike. A deadlock in contract bargaining would be settled by compulsory arbitration.

This is not the first time Nolin has tried to pass a bill on the issue. An attempt in 2003 failed when the Liberal government prorogued Parliament.

[ArmyVern]

Figured this was as good a place as any to place this:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/04/07/rcmp-union-court-ontario007.html

Mounties win right to form union
Last Updated: Tuesday, April 7, 2009 | 11:53 AM ET CBC News
An Ontario court has struck down a section of the RCMP Act, clearing the way for the country's 22,000 Mounties to form a union.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Ian MacDonnell said the section of the act that precludes unionization is unconstitutional, "because it substantially interferes with the freedom of members of the RCMP to engage in collective bargaining."

However, the decision will not take effect for 18 months, to give federal government time to consider an "appropriate response," MacDonnell said in a 38-page ruling issued Monday.

The lawsuit was launched by the Mounted Police Association of Ontario.

Currently, labour relations within the force are handled by an internal staff relations representative program. Individual members speak with staff relations representatives (SRRs), who then consult with RCMP management, where the final decision rests.

The RCMP argued that members, through their consultations with SRRs "make an invaluable contribution to the effectiveness of management's decisions."

Justice MacDonnell said he believes the collaborations between SRRs and management are "extensive and carried out in good faith," but they remain "a process of consultation only."

He characterized the staff relations program as an "entity created by management to avoid unionization."

The right to strike is not an issue as most police organizations give up that right.

Feel free to delete my post if it's already on the boards ... computer is being very sloooooooow, I could have missed it's being posted already.

[Colin P]

Anymore news on this?

[mariomike]

Anymore news on this?

National Post · Sept. 28, 2010
"Court grants stay on RCMP labour case:
The Ontario Court of Appeal gave something to both sides yesterday in an ongoing legal dispute over the right of RCMP officers to form a union.":
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/Court+grants+stay+RCMP+labour+case/3588347/story.html