Last week the federal government introduced a new piece of legislation, C-58, which is aimed at banning the practice of employers bringing in replacement workers during a contract dispute.
Experts say the legislation is the culmination of decades of work by the labour movement in Canada, while it also represents the fulfilment of a key demand in the Liberal-NDP confidence and supply agreement.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The first makes it illegal for employers in federally regulated industries to bring in replacement workers to continue operations previously executed by unionized employees during a legal strike or lockout.
The bill also sets out penalties for breaking the rules — $100,000 per day for employers — as well as some exceptions, such as for non-unionized contractors hired before notice of a lockout or strike, or in cases where there could be a threat to health and safety, property or the environment.
These new rules force unions and employers to negotiate early in the bargaining process (within 15 days of a notice of strike or lockout) which services would continue in the event of a dispute.
Larry Savage, a professor of labour studies at Brock University, also noted that the bill could reduce potential violence on picket lines and mitigate the damage to workplace cultures following a contract dispute.
Savage and Smith both said similar provincial legislation in Quebec and British Columbia had not led to a noticeable increase in contract disputes leading to strikes or lockouts.
“The other thing that’s happening here, though, is that I think the Liberals see this as an opportunity to use the legislation as a wedge issue to undermine recent Conservative efforts to build up support amongst blue collar union members,” said Savage.
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