Beyond the national divide

"Traditional treatments of Canadian industrial relations have either ignored regional differences or contrasted Quebec with the other nine provinces. This book contains separate chapters on eight provinces, plus an introduction to the topic and a conclusion that explains the results in theoretical terms. The chapters examine the economic, political and social forces that influence industrial relations. The authors found that two groups of provinces exist: the "confirmed systems" and the "dependent systems." The confirmed systems are found in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia. In these provinces the institutions of collective bargaining and unionism are well established and respected by other economic life of the province. Dependent industrial relations systems exist in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Alberta. In these provinces, the institutions of industrial relations lack the strength to resist incursions from hostile governments or employers. The labour movement is a minor action in the province's economic and political life. The roots of these differences are the existence of an active labour party and the bargaining power of labour during the period when labour and the institutions of collective bargaining were incorporated into the life of the province."--Jacket.