Project Labour Agreement Canada

Employment Contracts in Canada Historically, project work contracts (GPs) in Canada were exclusively for construction trades. These agreements are similar to those negotiated with the same unions, but may include provisions to ensure consistency among the other participating unions. Sometimes they « allow » certain standard provisions to facilitate the competitiveness of the construction sector in order to attract work, and also include provisions that exclude work stoppages and commissions for the duration of the project. The Association of Independent Enterprises and Enterprises encourages the State Government because of its project work contracts for large projects. Billions of dollars worth of B.C. projects are now being built under a so-called community performance agreement that defines the training of jobs that can work on projects and wages payable. The Independent Contractors and Business Association said that over the next three years, nearly $30 billion in government construction projects are planned and that overpayment by creating a union monopoly will cost taxpayers billions of dollars. The government submitted that its project employment contract will ensure that projects are built without work, as there is a non-strike agreement, and that it will be able to meet its targets for hiring a certain percentage of apprenticeship places, women and minorities. He said the province faces a severe shortage of skilled labour as more workers leave the labour market than they enter the labour market. « The government`s decision to force workers to join the BTU to access public projects is not only bad public policy, but also an unconstitutional policy, » said Wayne Prins, CLAC`s Executive Director. Another possibility is for the project owner to negotiate working conditions (in the form of a PLA) with a union or group of unions and then incorporate these conditions into the qualifications of the offer. Contractors submit bids knowing that they are related to the conditions of the PLA. This can only limit the tendering process to contractors who have already entered into agreements with PLA subcontractors.

As a general rule, a PLA is an agreement between the owner/developer (or a subsidiary or group of contractors) of a given construction project and the various unions that will carry out this work. The PLA generally regulates all working conditions for a particular construction project. In most cases, the conditions of the AEPs apply to all contractors and subcontractors working on the project (whether unionized or not) and the PLA replaces all existing collective agreements or employment conditions that exist elsewhere. In this way, the PLA creates a « level playing field » between union and non-union contractors. For example, wages and benefits are generally the same for all contractors who work under a LLP, regardless of union relations or conditions of employment that would apply to the contractor outside the project.