Further amendments to the Labour Relations Code are now in force.
Bill 32, the Restoring Balance in Alberta's Workplaces Act, 2020, received royal assent on July 29, 2020. Many of the amendments to the Employment Standards Code and the Labour Relations Code came into effect on that day, but others were not scheduled to come into force until proclamation.
On February 10, 2021, the Lieutenant Governor in Council issued O.C. 43/2021, bringing further changes to the Labour Relations Code into force and effect. These changes include:
- collective agreements may be renewed prior to their expiration;
- the window for an application for revocation has been changed to coordinate with early renewal of a collective agreement;
- permission from the Alberta Labour Relations Board (the "Board") is now required prior to engaging in secondary picketing;
- the statutory standard of review for the review of arbitration awards has been removed and the Board has the explicit power to grant costs in such reviews;
- construction and maintenance bargaining rights have been altered to allow both all-employee and trade-specific bargaining units; and
- project agreements in the construction industry negotiated by the Building Trades of Alberta limited in time and to a specific project are now permissible.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.