The Liberals introduced legislation Thursday to ban replacement workers during job action in federally regulated sectors, a key component of its supply-and-confidence agreement with the NDP.
Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said Bill C-58, if it becomes law, will outlaw the use of replacement workers, often known as “scabs,” in federally regulated workplaces during a strike or lockout.
An exception would apply in situations where there are threats to health and safety, or threats of serious property and environmental damage that could not be managed by the employer’s existing workforce.
If a union believes the employer is using replacement workers in a way beyond the exception, it can file a complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), which would then investigate the issue. The penalty for violating the ban would be $100,000 per day, O’Regan said.
“What we’ve done here, I believe, is something that is so important to our economy right now, and that is provide more certainty and more stability,” he told reporters in Ottawa.
“This is about the stability and certainty that comes with not being distracted by anything other than finding a solution at the table.”
The legislation also proposes changes to improve the maintenance of activities process, Ottawa said.
It would require employers and unions to come to an agreement within 15 days of the start of the bargaining process to determine what work needs to continue during a strike or lockout, if any. If they can’t reach an agreement, the CIRB would decide what activities need to be maintained within 90 days.
The minister would continue to have the authority to refer questions to the CIRB to protect the health and safety of Canadians, Ottawa said.
Anti-scab legislation is a key component of the supply-and-confidence agreement between the minority Liberals and the NDP. The two parties struck the deal in 2022, which will see the NDP support the Liberals until 2025 based on the implementation of a negotiated list of policies and priorities.
The Liberals committed to limiting the use of replacement workers in their 2021 election platform, and that was repeated in O’Regan’s mandate letter.
O’Regan said after the bill becomes law, the timeline to implement it would be 18 months, citing recommendations from groups Ottawa consulted with.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which carried out a major public sector strike this summer, said in a statement it has “significant concerns” over the implementation timeline, but welcomed the legislation.
“While this legislation is a start, it’s not perfect. PSAC has significant concerns about the 18-month delay expected before the legislation comes into force, the many of the exclusions for replacement workers, and the requirement for the already overburdened Canada Industrial Relations Board to rule on every strike action,” it said.
“Following a thorough analysis, PSAC will put forward suggestions for amendments to ensure that we have anti-scab legislation that truly puts workers first.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the bill wouldn’t have been possible without NDP advocacy.
“We’re going to fight hard with amendments to strengthen it. We’re going to fight hard to make sure this gets through Parliament and gets passed so that all workers in Canada know that at the federal level, we have set the standard that we are going to ban scab workers,” he told reporters in Ottawa.
“We hope to see this spread across the country. We want to see more jurisdictions pass this to protect workers, to give them more power so they can demand better wages, better work conditions so they can deal with the cost of living. We’ve got their back.”
Unions have been lobbying for the change for decades, and both the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP have introduced bills that would prevent the use of replacement workers in the past. They’ve all been defeated by Liberal and Conservative votes.
In addition to the federal public service, the proposed rules would apply to many federal Crown corporations as well as broadcasting and telecommunications companies, grain elevators, feed and seed mills, and transportation infrastructure including airlines, airports, ports, marine shipping, railways and road transportation services.
Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, which represents some 66,000 workers in federally regulated workplaces, called Thursday a “historic day” for labour rights in Canada.
“I can tell you in the rare times labour disputes do happen and they drag on longer and pose greater risks to health and safety when scabs are employed. That’s our experience and it is the experience of workers all across this country,” she told reporters in Ottawa.
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“This legislation is a step towards levelling the playing field. It will be good for the economy and it will be good for labour relations. It encourages unions and employers to resolve their differences in the very place designed for that to happen: the bargaining table, together, exactly the way that it should happen.”
Jasmin Guenette, vice president of national affairs with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said in a statement the bill puts “too much power in the hands of large unions.”
“If passed, this bill could prolong the duration of strikes and increase their frequency. We’ve seen it happen in British Columbia and Quebec, where there’s already a legislation to ban replacement workers and where they have experienced more strikes than other jurisdictions,” he said.
“There’s a reason why similar bills were always voted down in the past. They put too much power in the hands of large unions, and they are a threat to the economy as a whole. It looks like this bill is introduced for political reasons and not because it’s necessary.”
Instead, CFIB recommends Ottawa consider making ports and other federally regulated workplaces, including rail, air, trucking service providers and telecommunications, an essential service with binding arbitration.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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