Centralized Bargaining and the Canadian Construction Industry

Abstract

In Canada, the road to achieving construction labor relations stability has been long and winding. During the 1960s, there was a dramatic rise in strike activity and wage settlements. This led to sweeping legal reforms designed to centralize bargaining structures and stabilize labor–management relations. Although success initially proved elusive, significant improvements in bargaining outcomes were achieved in the long run. This paper examines developments in the period 1989–2008 and finds (1) the construction industry’s share of total strike activity declined significantly and (2) construction wage settlements were broadly consistent with private sector settlements. Several factors contributed to this trend, including increases in non-union competition, legal refinements supporting centralized bargaining structures, and the maturation of bargaining relationships. There has been a shift away from adversarial and confrontational bargaining toward increased labor–management competition, flexible collective agreements, and the adoption of alternative dispute resolution procedures.