Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (S.C. 2003, c. 22, s. 2)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 2 (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.

  adjudicator

  adjudicator means a person or board of adjudication to whom a grievance is referred under paragraph 223(2)(a), (b) or (c). (arbitre de grief)

  arbitral award

  arbitral award means an award made by an arbitration board in respect of a dispute. (décision arbitrale)

  arbitration board

  arbitration board means a board established under Division 9 of Part 1. (conseil d’arbitrage)

  bargaining agent

  bargaining agent means an employee organization that is certified by the Board as the bargaining agent for the employees in a bargaining unit. (agent négociateur)

  bargaining unit

  bargaining unit means a group of two or more employees that is determined by the Board to constitute a unit of employees appropriate for collective bargaining. (unité de négociation)

  Board

  Board means the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board referred to in subsection 4(1) of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Act. (Commission)

  Chairperson

  Chairperson means the Chairperson of the Board. (président)

  collective agreement

  collective agreement means an agreement in writing, entered into under Part 1 between the employer and a bargaining agent, containing provisions respecting terms and conditions of employment and related matters. (convention collective)

  core public administration

  core public administration has the same meaning as in subsection 11(1) of the Financial Administration Act. (administration publique centrale)

  council of employee organizations

  council of employee organizations means a council formed by two or more employee organizations within the meaning of paragraph (a) of the definition employee organization or by two or more employee organizations within the meaning of paragraph (b) of that definition. (regroupement d’organisations syndicales)

  deputy head

  deputy head means a deputy head referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (c) of the definition deputy head in subsection 11(1) of the Financial Administration Act. (administrateur général)

  dispute

  dispute means a dispute or difference that arises in connection with the entering into, renewal or revision of a collective agreement and in respect of which arbitration may be requested under subsection 136(1) or conciliation may be requested under subsection 161(1). (différend)

  employee

  employee, except in Part 2, means a person employed in the public service, other than

  • (a) a person appointed by the Governor in Council under an Act of Parliament to a statutory position described in that Act;

  • (b) a person locally engaged outside Canada;

  • (c) a person not ordinarily required to work more than one third of the normal period for persons doing similar work;

  • (d) a person who is an officer as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act;

  • (e) a person employed in the Canadian Security Intelligence Service who does not perform duties of a clerical or secretarial nature;

  • (f) a person employed on a casual basis;

  • (g) a person employed on a term basis, unless the term of employment is for a period of three months or more or the person has been so employed for a period of three months or more;

  • (h) an employee of the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada who provides any of the following services exclusively to the Board:

    • (i) mediation and dispute resolution services,

    • (ii) legal services,

    • (iii) advisory services relating to the Board’s exercise of its powers and performance of its duties and functions;

  • (i) a person who occupies a managerial or confidential position; or

  • (j) a person who is employed under a program designated by the employer as a student employment program. (fonctionnaire)

  employee organization

  employee organization means

  • (a) in respect of employees who are not RCMP members or reservists, an organization of employees that has as one of its purposes the regulation of relations between the employer and its employees for the purposes of Parts 1 and 2; and

  • (b) in respect of employees who are RCMP members or reservists, an organization of those employees that has as one of its purposes the regulation of relations between the employer and its employees for the purposes of Parts 1, 2 and 2.1. (organisation syndicale)

  employer

  employer means Her Majesty in right of Canada as represented by

  • (a) the Treasury Board, in the case of a department named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act or another portion of the federal public administration named in Schedule IV to that Act; and

  • (b) the separate agency, in the case of a portion of the federal public administration named in Schedule V to the Financial Administration Act. (employeur)

  managerial or confidential position

  managerial or confidential position means a position declared to be a managerial or confidential position by an order made by the Board under subsection 62(1), section 63, subsection 74(1) or section 75. (poste de direction ou de confiance)

  member

  member means a member of the Board, whether full-time or part-time. (commissaire)

  membership dues

  membership dues, in respect of employees represented by a bargaining agent, means the amount that the employer is required to deduct from the pay of the employees and remit to the bargaining agent under any collective agreement that is entered into between the employer and the bargaining agent. (cotisations syndicales)

  Minister

  Minister means the member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, other than a member of the Treasury Board, designated by the Governor in Council as the Minister for the purposes of this Act. (ministre)

  National Joint Council

  National Joint Council means the National Joint Council whose establishment was authorized by Order in Council P.C. 3676, dated May 16, 1944. (Conseil national mixte)

  public service

  public service, except in Part 3, means the several positions in or under

  • (a) the departments named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act;

  • (b) the other portions of the federal public administration named in Schedule IV to that Act; and

  • (c) the separate agencies named in Schedule V to that Act. (fonction publique)

  RCMP member

  RCMP member, except in Division 2 of Part 2.1, means a member as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act who is appointed to a rank. (membre de la GRC)

  reservist

  reservist means a person who is appointed as a reservist under regulations made under subsection 11(1) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act. (réserviste)

  separate agency

  separate agency has the same meaning as in subsection 11(1) of the Financial Administration Act. (organisme distinct)

  strike

  strike includes a cessation of work or a refusal to work or to continue to work by persons employed in the public service, in combination, in concert or in accordance with a common understanding, and a slow-down of work or any other concerted activity on the part of such persons that is designed to restrict or limit output. (grève)

  Vice-Chairperson

  Vice-Chairperson means a Vice-Chairperson of the Board. (vice-président)

• Marginal note:Employment status preserved

  (2) A person does not cease to be employed in the public service by reason only that the person ceases to work as a result of a strike or by reason only of the termination of the person’s employment contrary to this Act or any other Act of Parliament.

• Marginal note:Persons who are not employees

  (3) For greater certainty, a person is not an employee if

  • (a) the person is engaged under section 30 of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Act; or

  • (b) the person’s compensation for the performance of the regular duties of the person’s position or office consists of fees of office or is related to the revenue of the office in which the person is employed.

• Marginal note:Casual employment

  (4) For the purposes of paragraph (f) of the definition employee in subsection (1) and paragraph (e) of the definition employee in subsection 206(1), a person employed in the part of the public service to which the Public Service Commission has the exclusive right to make appointments is employed on a casual basis if the person was appointed under section 50 of the Public Service Employment Act.

• Marginal note:References to occupants of positions

  (5) Every reference to a person who occupies a position, or to the occupant of a position, includes a person who is acting in that position or who has assumed wholly or substantially the duties and responsibilities of that position, and a reference to a person’s position includes the position of a person who is acting in that position or who has assumed wholly or substantially the duties and responsibilities of that position.

• Marginal note:Reference to employee organization

  (6) Unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to an employee organization includes a reference to a council of employee organizations, and a reference to an employee organization within the meaning of paragraph (a) or (b), as the case may be, of the definition employee organization in subsection 2(1) includes a reference to a council formed by two or more employee organizations within the meaning of that paragraph.

Marginal note:Descriptive cross- references

3 If, in any provision of this Act, a reference to another provision of this Act is followed by words in parentheses that are descriptive of the subject-matter of that other provision, the words in parentheses form no part of the provision in which they occur and are deemed to have been inserted for convenience of reference only.

PART 1Labour Relations

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 4 (1) The following definitions apply in this Part.

  essential service

  essential service means a service, facility or activity of the Government of Canada that is or will be, at any time, necessary for the safety or security of the public or a segment of the public. (services essentiels)

  essential services agreement

  essential services agreement means an agreement between the employer and the bargaining agent for a bargaining unit that identifies 

  • (a) the types of positions in the bargaining unit that are necessary for the employer to provide essential services;

  • (b) the number of those positions that are necessary for that purpose; and

  • (c) the specific positions that are necessary for that purpose. (entente sur les services essentiels)

  mediator

  mediator means a person appointed as a mediator under subsection 108(1). (médiateur)

  National Joint Council

  National Joint Council[Repealed, 2017, c. 9, s. 4]

  parties

  parties, in relation to collective bargaining, arbitration, conciliation or a dispute, means the employer and the bargaining agent. (parties)

  public interest commission

  public interest commission means a commission established under Division 10. (commission de l’intérêt public)

• Marginal note:When position is necessary

  (2) A position that is necessary for the employer to provide essential services for the purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition essential services agreement in subsection (1) includes a position the occupant of which is required, at any time,

  • (a) to perform the duties of the position that relate to the provision of essential services; or

  • (b) to be available during his or her off-duty hours to report to work without delay to perform those duties if required to do so by the employer.

DIVISION 1Employee Freedoms

Marginal note:Employee freedoms

5 Every employee is free to join the employee organization of his or her choice and to participate in its lawful activities.

DIVISION 2Management Rights

Marginal note:Right of Treasury Board preserved

6 Nothing in this Act is to be construed as affecting the right or authority of the Treasury Board under paragraph 7(1)(b) of the Financial Administration Act.

Marginal note:Right of employer preserved

7 Nothing in this Act is to be construed as affecting the right or authority of the Treasury Board or a separate agency to determine the organization of those portions of the federal public administration for which it represents Her Majesty in right of Canada as employer or to assign duties to and to classify positions and persons employed in those portions of the federal public administration.

Marginal note:Right of Commissioner of Royal Canadian Mounted Police preserved

7.1 Nothing in this Act is to be construed as affecting the right or authority of the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police under the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act to ensure that police operations are effective.