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New Brunswick Enacts Anti-Double
Breasting Legislation
Issue 4 - 2008
June 16th marked a significant victory for the organized construction industry in
New Brunswick, with the enactment of Bill 76, a measure to curtail the insidious
practice of double-breasting by construction company owners. Double-breasting
occurs when the owner of a union construction company creates a non-union spinoff
to escape union certification and the wages and benefits provided by a collective
agreement. One example would be a company that wins a contract with a bid based
on union wages, but then sets up a separate company to do the work using cheaper,
non-union labour.
IU Regional Director – Canada Fred Vautour expressed confidence that the bill’s
passage “is a win-win situation for reputable union contractors and their employees
in the province.”
Introduced and passed by the legislature in May 2008, the bill amends the New
Brunswick Industrial Relations Act’s common-employer provision by strengthening
the investigative and enforcement authority of the Labour and Employment Board.
Under the new law, if the Board finds that an existing union company creates a
non-union entity solely to avoid the encumbrances of a collective bargaining agreement,
the Board has the ability to apply the existing terms and conditions of the
agreement to the new company.
Prior to its enactment, Justice and Consumer Affairs Minister T.J. Burke said of the measure, “We are committed to supporting our workers. We are also committed to fairness to employers, and I am confident that this amendment respects the balance we must maintain to foster positive relations between employers and workers in our province. It is simply not acceptable that New Brunswick is the only jurisdiction in Canada without this legislation, so the time to act is now.”
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