The Labour Relations Code

The primary statute regulating labour law in British Columbia is the Labour Relations Code. The Code establishes the rights and duties of employers and unions and prohibits "unfair labour practices". The Code sets out how unions obtain the rights to bargaining on behalf of employee groups and how those rights can be lost. It also contains regulates the following subjects:

  -   What happens when a company is bought or sold (successorship rights and obligations;
  -   How trade unions and employers can form into groups for bargaining purposes;
  -   Collective bargaining procedures;
  -   Obtaining a first collective agreement;
  -   When strikes or lockouts may occur and the procedures to be followed before strikes or
       lockouts take place;
  -   Picketing rules;
  -   How essential services are maintained during strikes or lockouts.

As well, the Code sets out rules and procedures for resolving disputes that arise under collective agreements. It is the Labour Relations Code that empowers arbitrators to hear and rule upon disputes.

The Labour Relations Board is the body responsible for certifying (or decertifying) unions as bargaining agents and for generally overseeing the application of the Code. There are often hearings held at the Board in its Vancouver offices when disputes over any issues covered by the Code arise.