Forging Business-Labour Partnerships: The Emergence of Sector Councils in Canada

Robert W. Sexty is a professor of commerce and business administration
at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the author of Canadian
Business: Issues and Stakeholders.

A sector council is a joint employer-employee organization that provides
a neutral decision-making forum to determine human resource issues
within a sector and to develop and implement a sectoral human resource
strategy. Formed in the 1990s and financed by the federal government,
the councils deliver adjustment programs, administer training funds for
skills training and upgrading, and establish industry standards. They
are a form of labor, government, and business cooperation known as
corporatism.

This book provides an overview of the Canadian experience with sector
councils. Its 13 chapters are divided into six parts addressing the
following topics: a historical and economic perspective on sector
councils; labor and business approaches; sector initiatives in Quebec
and Ontario; sector councils and the concept of joint governance; an
evaluation of sector councils; and the relationship between corporatism,
the industrial relations system, and sector councils. The editors
conclude that sector councils are an effective approach to joint
decision making and that the experience with these councils has been
positive for both labor and business. Their book is accomplished and
well organized but unfortunately lacks an index.