Technological change in Canadian workplaces has been an increasing source of conflict between companies and unions. The pressure upon companies to adapt to change and implement new technologies has necessitated major transformations in the production process resulting in the displacement of workers more than ever before.
This Special Report identifies • the parties’ respective rights regarding the implementation of technological change • the foundation of an employer’s authority to adapt its methods of production, via the “residual” theory of management rights • legislative constraints governments have imposed on employers to provide unions a degree of protection • an in-depth analysis of arbitration case law that interprets the legislation.
Table of Contents • Introduction • Constraints on Employer Authority to Introduce Technological Change • Implementing Technological Change: The Impact for the Unionized and Non-Unionized Employer • Summary.
Gordon F. Luborsky graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1982 and was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1984. Between 1982 and 1993 he was employed at the labour and employment law firm Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie, as an Articling Student, Associate and Partner. In January, 1994 he became the Senior Vice President and General Counsel and a Director of Premier Salons Canada Inc., and the Magicuts group of companies, with responsibilities for all legal, human resources, franchise development, labour and employment matters throughout the companies’ world wide operations. In October, 1995 he joined the law firm Lang Michener, as co-chair of that firm’s Employment and Labour Law Practice Group. In January, 1998 Mr. Luborsky began his own practice, concentrating in employment and labour law, with growing involvement as an arbitrator and mediator in employment, labour and franchise/commercial disputes.
John C. O'Reilly, B.A., LL.B., received his Honours Bachelor of Arts from Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario in 1989, thereafter graduating from the University of Alberta Bachelor of Laws programme in 1993. Mr. O’Reilly has experience on both sides of the labour/management table, having worked with the Edmonton Civic Service Union #52 in 1991 and articling with a large Toronto-based management labour law firm. He has represented employers in the practice of labour law since 1995, and has recently joined Reynolds, Mirth, Richards & Farmer in Edmonton, Alberta. He is the author of CLV Special Report - An Employer's Guide to Surveillance, Searches and Medical Examinations, and the co-author of CLV Special Report - The Outsourcing Controversy: Avoiding the Pitfalls, CLV Special Report - Employers’ Responsibility for Benefits, CLV Special Report - Technological Change in the Workplace, CLV Special Report - Labour Laws in Transition, and CLV Special Report - Employee Surveillance: Defining the Boundaries.