ST. JOHN’S, NL – In 1986 the Brian Peckford Progressive Conservative government took just 19 minutes to pass Bill 59, which required NAPE (Newfoundland Association of Public Employees) to designate up to 49% of its members in several bargaining units as essential employees (including the Newfoundland Liquor Commission). It also broadened the definition of manager so two thousand NAPE members would be excluded from the union, and Brian banned rotating strikes. NAPE petitioned the Newfoundland Supreme Court to strike down Bill-59, which breached its members’ Charter rights to free speech and freedom of assembly – and lost.
NAPE fights Bill 59 at the International Labour Organization of the UN, and wins.
NAPE then began fighting back against government’s 2-year wage freeze (Bill 111). This includes setting up information pickets outside the legislature in St John’s.
The union also succeeded in forming the Coalition for Equality – made up of other unions, social action, and church groups. They were united by their concern about government’s abuse of legislative powers, such as Bill 59 and Bill 111.
1986 – The Parity Strike
NAPE refused to designate essential employees while waiting for the wage control legislation to expire. By the time collective bargaining is restored in 1986, NAPE members are pissed.
An unintended consequence of the wage freeze is that NAPE members who do the same job in different bargaining units were being paid different amounts. In 1986, restoring wage parity was the top bargaining priority. When negotiations stalled, 1200 members from General Service (GS) Local 7104 (Confederation Building) walked off the job.
By the next morning, 283 NAPE members had been charged. The walkout spread as NAPE Locals across the province walked out in solidarity. The arrests stopped but only because the justice system was overwhelmed. The Chief Justice of the Newfoundland Supreme Court declared the province to be close to a state of anarchy.
The Parity ’86 strike involved 5500 GS and Maintenance and Operational Service (MOS) members.
It began on March 3 and ran for 34 days. NAPE and government signed a back-to-work agreement on April 7, but government didn’t honour its end of the deal.
Negotiations broke off on May 9 and did not resume until August.
On September 3, the strike resumed for 28 days. There were more mass arrests.
24 church leaders wrote government urging that talks resume under the eye of an independent monitoring committee. The result was a tentative agreement with significant improvements. NAPE members would achieve wage parity by 1989, temporary employees were made permanent, and patronage appointments were abolished.
Government decided not to prosecute the picketers.
In 1987, NAPE’s President, Fraser March, was sentenced to 4 months in jail and 2 years’ probation for his role in the Parity ’86 strike. NAPE was fined $110,000.
What did the government get for this disruption of government and life in Newfoundland? Nothing. In 1988, Bill 59 was repealed and the rights won by the union still stand.
Happy Labour Day.
