New rules on union certification for federally regulated
employers will take effect June 16, 2015, following the royal
assent of Bill C-525.
The legislative amendment substantially alters the process for
unions to obtain certification in relation to federally regulated
employers. In particular, a union's ability to obtain
certification automatically without a vote has been eliminated
under the new rules. Unions will now be required to win a vote
before being certified to represent workers.
Under the outgoing regime, union certification can be awarded
under Part II of the Canada Labour Code (the
Code) where a union presents evidence that more than 50%
of employees in a proposed bargaining unit have signed union
"cards" and paid for a union membership. Where such
evidence could be provided, certification would be automatically
granted the union without the need for a secret ballot vote. Only
if evidence of union membership is provided of between 35% and 50%
of the
