The State, Collective Bargaining and the Shape of Strikes in Canada

Abstract

This paper examines the role of the state in order to explain the distinctive pattern of Canadian strike activity, particularly the long duration of stoppages. Two interrelated aspects of state intervention in collective bargaining are considered: direct regulation involving restrictions on use of the strike; and enactments designed to legitimate the role of the state. Both types of policy are shown to have influenced the shape of strikes. It is suggested that Canadian employers may have preferred more protracted strikes to more frequent, but less predictable stoppages. Certain countertrends to this institutionalization of industrial conflict, and the likely form of further state response, are discussed.

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