Collective Agreement and Bargaining Submission
As a student or worker in the entertainment industry, you might work in a unionized environment. If you do, your rights and obligations of yourself and your employer will likely vary.
In a non-unionized environment in Ontario, your rights and your employer’s obligations are found in the Employment Standards Act. Whereas, in a unionized environment, the terms of your employment are governed by a collective agreement.
What is a collective agreement?
If you are a unionized worker, the terms of your employment are governed by a collective agreement. A collective agreement is an employment contract that covers a group of employees represented by a union. Some of the collective agreements relevant in Canada in the entertainment industry are the Writers Guild of Canada Independent Production Agreement, the ACTRA IPA and the Directors Guild of Canada Standard Agreement. There are also those from the United States which many in the Canadian film industry are familiar with, such as the SAG-AFTRA Basic Agreement, the Writers Guild of America Basic Agreement, and the Directors Guild of America Basic Agreement.
What do collective agreements include?
A collective agreement creates a unique legal arrangement, that not only defines the rights and obligations of the trade union and the employer but the terms and conditions of all employees in the bargaining unit!! They may include:
- Entitlements: vacation, overtime, wages, benefits
- Policy: hours of work, scheduling, workplace practices/procedures, hiring, layoffs
- Rights: strikes, grievances, arbitration
- Peace Obligation: No strikes or lockouts during the life of the collective (e.g. Ontario Labour Relations Act, section 46)
- Minimum duration of minimum 1 year (e.g. Ontario Labour Relations Act, section 58.1)
Who makes a collective agreement?
The process of creating a collective agreement is a bargaining process. The union is advised of the employee’s needs through union representative(s). The employer and the union will negotiate the terms of the collective agreement. The agreements are not made in a vacuum but are largely informed by either previous collective agreements, industry standards and relevant legal and arbitral decisions.
How are they made?
The process of creating a collective agreement starts with a union being certified as the exclusive bargaining agent for a specific group of employees or a union may already be in place. In either circumstance, the employer or employee can serve a notice to bargain to the other party.
Is it possible to opt-out of a collective agreement?
Usually, you are unable as an individual to opt out of a collective agreement. However, the ability to opt out will depend on the specifics of the collective agreement. If available, opting out would result in the terms of your employment being government by the Employment Standards Act and not the original collective agreement.
Opting-out is not likely as collective agreements can have clauses that require potential employees to become members of the union before they are hired. Or in some situations, the agreements will require members to pay union dues which are fees deducted from your pay.
What do I do if I have a problem with something covered by my collective agreement?
A grievance procedure is used when a dispute arises regarding the collective agreement. A grievance procedure is designed to resolve disputes by facilitating discussion between the employer and union (representing the employee). How complex the grievance process is will largely depend on the size and scale of the company. On the whole, bringing a grievance is usually the task of the union and not the individual; unless the collective agreement states otherwise. Often collective agreements will set out time limits for filing a grievance and moving it forward.
When the grievance can’t be settled by the parties, the matter may be resolved through arbitration. Ontario requires an arbitration clause in the collective agreement. Arbitration generally involves a neutral third party hearing the evidence and deciding a resolution to the issue. The collective agreement may provide more specific requirements, such as allowing the employer and the union to choose their own arbitrators.
Resources:
Ontario Ministry of Labour, “Collective Bargaining, Agreements and Negotiations FAQ”
David J Doorey, “The Law of Work: Common Law and the Regulation of Work,” 12.
Wesley B. Ryner et al, “Canadian Collective Bargaining Law: Principles and Practice”, 394, 398, 403, 419.
Donald D. Carter et al, “Labour Law in Canada,” 364, 370-2.
Ontario Ministry of Labour, “Arbitration FAQ”
The Labour Law Casebook Group, “Labour and Employment Law: Cases, Materials and Commentary,” 340.
The Queen’s Film & TV Research Group are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice! For more information on labour and employment law, please see the Labour & Employment Law section of this site. Find out more about Queen’s Law on their website, and Pro Bono Queen’s at the PBSC Queen’s site.