Balancing work and family in the low-wage service sector: The role of legislated and collectively-bargained norms in Quebec

Abstract

This paper looks at the role of legislated norms of general application in shaping "family-friendly" workplaces and their interaction with collectively-bargained standards in the retail service sector and more specifically, in a single unionized retail sector in Quebec, Canada. The methodology used is traditional legal research methodology: analysis of laws, collective agreements and case law. The principal norms examined concern parental and family leave, working time and disparities between different employment statuses. A series of legislative provisions have been adopted in Quebec over the last 30 years whose objectives are the improvement of family-related leave and the reduction of working time. Unions have also negotiated provisions in collective agreements with these same goals. In the low-wage retail sector studied, the working time standards negotiated between the unions and the employers reflect the characteristics of the sector, most notably extended opening hours, seven days a week. Predictability of hours also varies according to employment status. Such issues as family-unfriendly working time arrangements (last-minute scheduling, asocial hours, etc.) and the need for flexibility in family-related leave are insufficiently taken into account by the legislated and bargained provisions. A fine analysis and comprehension of existing formal regulation, be it legislated or collectively-bargained, is required to fully understand workers' experiences with work-family balance and to identify the gaps between formal norms and the needs expressed by workers with respect to work-family balance.