2004/05 - 2006/07 Service Plan -- Ministry of Skills Development and Labour

Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Results — Continued

Goal 2: Promote productive and competitive workplaces from which good relationships in the labour relations community can be developed.

Core Business Area:: Industrial Relations.

The ministry is committed to initiatives that will contribute to a more positive investment climate in the province, such as a stable industrial relations environment. To that end, the ministry will continue developing a labour relations framework that balances the rights and obligations of employers, trade unions and employees, while also protecting the rights of third parties not involved in industrial disputes. Through a focused approach to industrial relations services, this core business area of the ministry helps to promote a vibrant, productive and competitive economy.

The ministry's industrial relations activities are closely tied to those of its external stakeholders, which include unionized workers, employers, unions and employers' associations. Labour Relations Board appointees are equally representative of those groups, and stakeholder interests are represented on the Board through its composition.

Numerous contextual factors may impact the industrial relations environment in British Columbia. The most significant risks and opportunities associated with the ministry's industrial relations goal of a productive labour relations climate are associated with these external factors, such as the global economy and the collective bargaining cycles of B.C.'s unionized workforce.

In order to maximize these opportunities and mitigate the risks, the ministry will continue to monitor and take appropriate action according to its industrial relations mandate.

In recognition of the power of external factors to impact the ministry's goals in this core business area, it has refined a number of its objectives and performance measures to more accurately reflect ministry activities. For example, rather than striving to decrease workdays lost to labour disputes and to decrease the number of Labour Relations Code contraventions, the ministry has set objectives of increasing the success rate of collective bargaining mediations and increasing the number of Labour Relations Code applications that are resolved prior to adjudication. These objectives are more consistent with ministry responsibilities and are therefore more accurately measured.

Objective 1:: Encourage mutual confidence between unions and employers.

Performance Measure	2002/03 Base (actual)	2003/04 Base (estimate)¹	2004/05 Target	2005/06 Target	2006/07 Target
Number of LRB applications and complaints received²	2,247	2,450-2,550	2,550-2,780	2,250-2,350	2,250-2,350


¹	Estimates of applications received and disposed of are based on the monthly average figures for the calendar year to date. Estimates of percentages are based on fiscal year-to-date figures and are subject to change.
²	Number of applications and complaints received includes mediations and adjudications; Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau (CAAB) applications received prior to January 1, 2003 are not included. The relatively small range of increase anticipated for 2003 to 2005 takes into account the changing profile of the labour force, the cycle of business, including expiration of contracts, and variation in union activities that may focus on broader labour relations issues and less on day-to-day issues and certification activities.

Strategies:: 1. Provide information to Labour Relations Board clients about the Labour Relations Code and industrial relations practices.; 2. Create an industrial relations environment that is responsive to the needs of employees, unions and employers by maintaining the accessibility of Labour Relations Board services to all parties and streamlining their administrative requirements.

Objective 2:: Increase collective bargaining mediation success rate.

Performance Measure	2002/03 Base (actual)	2003/04 Base (estimate)	2004/05 Target	2005/06 Target	2006/07 Target
Percentage of mediation applications settled (ss. 55 and 74)	74.4%	75-80%	75-80%	75-80%	75-80%

Strategy:: Encourage alternative dispute resolution processes.

Objective 3:: Increase number of Labour Relations Code applications that are resolved prior to adjudication.

Performance Measure	2002/03 Base (actual)	2003/04 Base (estimate)	2004/05 Target	2005/06 Target	2006/07 Target
Number of applications and complaints disposed of^1,2	2,075	2,500-2,600	2,350-2,580	2,250-2,350	2,250-2,350
Percentage of disputes settled³	64.2%	60-65%	70-75%	70-75%	70-75%


¹	The range for 2003 to 2005 takes into account a number of substantial operative changes within the LRB that occurred in 2002 and 2003. These include a substantial reduction in staffing and budgetary allotments and the reduction in the number of vice chairs.
²	Number of applications and complaints disposed of includes mediations and adjudications; CAAB applications received prior to January 1, 2003 are not included. "Disposed of" means an arbitrator or mediator-arbitrator has been appointed, but the case will remain open to record the final outcome. The relatively small range of increase anticipated for 2003 to 2005 takes into account the changing profile of the labour force, the cycle of business, including expiration of contracts, and variation in union activities that may focus on broader labour relations issues and less on day-to-day issues and certification activities.
³	'Disputes' that come to the LRB include: unfair labour practice complaints (ss. 5-12), applications under sections 32 and 45, and Part 5 applications (ss. 57-70). Applications under sections 55 and 74 of the Labour Relations Code are excluded from this calculation and are instead listed separately under 'objective 2'. "Settled" means resolved without formal decision, order or declaration.

Strategies:: 1. Provide information to Labour Relations Board clients about the Labour Relations Code and industrial relations practices.; 2. Ensure Labour Relations Board operations are suited to today's work environment by continuing to apply the principles enshrined in the Labour Relations Code, such as encouraging cooperation between employers and trade unions in resolving workplace issues, adapting to changes in the economy, developing workforce skills and developing a workforce and a workplace that promotes productivity.; 3. Create an industrial relations environment that is responsive to the needs of employees, unions and employers by maintaining the accessibility of Labour Relations Board services to all parties and streamlining their administrative requirements.

Objective 4:: Issue decisions in a timely manner.

Performance Measure	2002/03 Base (actual)	2003/04 Base (estimate)	2004/05 Target	2005/06 Target	2006/07 Target
Average number of backlog cases¹	23	35	TBD²	TBD	TBD


¹	In general, a case is seen as part of the 'backlog' if it has been assigned for more than 90 days and no hearing will be held, or where a hearing has been completed and more than 45 days have passed. The estimated increase in backlog for 2003 and 2004 is attributable to the reduction in staffing of adjudicators.
²	The Labour Relations Board is undertaking a review and analysis of its timeliness in responding to stakeholders. This review is expected to be completed in the spring of 2004. The Board anticipates that this review will help it to specify time frames for different processes in the Labour Relations Board Rules. Future performance measures can reflect this new approach and indicate the new timelines provided in the Rules.

Strategies:: 1. Facilitate the use of early intervention and alternative dispute resolution processes.; 2. Expedite Labour Relations Board adjudication through more focused decisions and review and analysis of procedural timelines.