Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) is responsible for providing dispute resolution and dispute prevention assistance to trade unions and employers under the jurisdiction of the Canada Labour Code.

Eligibility Criteria

The FMCS derives its authority from the Canada Labour Code (Part I). This legislation governs industrial relations in federally-regulated industries, including:

• international and interprovincial rail, road and air transportation;
• shipping and longshoring operations;
• grain handling;
• uranium mining;
• banking;
• broadcasting;
• telecommunications; and
• certain Crown corporations.

Summary

The FMCS provides conciliation and mediation assistance to parties engaged in collective bargaining and offers an extensive range of preventive mediation and grievance mediation services aimed at resolving differences and improving industrial relations during the closed period of a collective agreement. It also manages the Labour-Management Partnerships Program, which provides seed funding for innovative projects designed to improve labour-management relationships.

By providing unions and employers with these services, the FMCS helps to foster harmonious labour-management relations throughout Canada.

Programs and Services

Mediation and Conciliation Services

The FMCS offers a number of services to assist employers and unions in resolving industrial relations disputes and in improving their labour-management relations.

The Mediation and Conciliation Services include:

• conciliation;
• mediation;
• preventive mediation; and
• grievance mediation.

Arbitration, Adjudication and Wage Recovery

The FMCS administers the Ministerial appointment of arbitrators, adjudicators and referees to resolve grievances, unjust dismissal complaints and wage recovery appeals pursuant to the provisions of the Canada Labour Code.

Preventive Mediation and Grievance Mediation

The FMCS offers a comprehensive Preventive Mediation Program designed to help parties build and maintain constructive working relationships.

The Preventive Mediation Program includes the following services:

• negotiation skills workshop;
• committee effectiveness workshop;
• relationship by objectives workshop;
• joint problem-solving workshop;
• grievance resolution workshop;
• grievance mediation; and
• facilitation.

Legislation, Research and Policy

The Legislation, Research and Policy section of FMCS is responsible for providing in-depth research on current and emerging industrial relations issues to support the work of federal jurisdiction mediators and conciliators.

Labour-Management Partnerships Program

The Labour-Management Partnerships Program (LMPP) is a contribution program administered by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service that is designed to encourage effective labour-management relations in the workplace or at the sectoral level by providing funding assistance that supports efforts by unions and employers to jointly explore new ways of working, and of working together. Funding is available up to a maximum of $100 000 per project.

Duration

Projects cannot exceed 24 months.

New Brunswick Contact(s):
See National Contact.

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National Contact(s):
Headquarters
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Labour Program
Human Resources and Social Development Canada
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0J2
Toll-free (information): 1-800-563-5677
Web site: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/home.shtml