When the Union Becomes a Vector of Inequalities: The Effects of Orphan Clauses on Union Association
Since the 1980s, unions have often been under pressure to accept wage compressions during collective bargaining. Faced with little bargaining power, their only choice sometimes ends up being between accepting eroded conditions for all or only some of their members. In this context, unions go from being a partner in the fight against inequalities to being a vector of inequalities. Based on two case studies where unions agreed to introduce orphan clauses to existing collective agreements, this paper aims to document the consequences unions have to deal with when some of their members decide to challenge such clauses because they find them to be discriminatory. We observed that in both unions, there was a refusal to consider the dual salary scale as being discriminatory for two main reasons: first, local officers are unfamiliar with the notion of discrimination, often limited to direct discrimination, while the orphan clauses create indirect discrimination that impacts the newlyhired employees, and consequently those employees that are younger; second, Unions do not recognize any responsibility on their part as the labour agreement was reached in a specific legal and economic context and under pressure from the employer. In conclusion, we find that various effects of the negotiation of orphan clauses include the persistence of inequalities and the difficulty to implement equality rules within the unionized sector.