New Democrat MPs and the Canadian Union of Public Employees yesterday pressed cabinet to introduce a promised federal ban on replacement workers. The Liberal Party two years ago pledged to introduce the bill, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“The right we are fighting to protect is the right for workers to withdraw their labour from capital, from big bosses and CEOs who would seek to union bust and undermine their abilities for fair collective agreements,” said New Democrat MP Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, ON). “New Democrats have tabled this legislation upwards of ten times, to have both the Liberals and Conservatives vote against protecting these fundamental workers’ rights.”.The Liberal Party in its Sept. 1, 2021 campaign platform Forward For Everyone promised “legislation to prohibit the use of replacement workers, ‘scabs,’ when a union employer in a federally regulated industry has locked out employees.” Cabinet repeated the promise in a December 16, 2021 Ministerial Mandate letter and a Supply And Confidence Agreement signed with New Democrats last March 22..Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan last October 19 launched what he called a year-long review of the legislation. “We are consulting,” O’Regan told reporters..“Has the business community been telling you this will be bad?” asked a reporter. “I don’t think they are entirely happy about it,” replied O’Regan..Mark Hancock, national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, yesterday said the bill must be introduced. “It works,” he said..“I regularly negotiated collective agreements in my home province of Nova Scotia where anti-scab legislation has been in place since 1993,” said Hancock. “I know anti-scab legislation helps level the playing field when it comes to contract negotiations.”.“As a union leader I have long been frustrated by the lack of anti-scab legislation at the federal level,” said Hancock. “I am frustrated that bosses routinely bring in scabs when negotiations aren’t going their way and try to pressure workers into accepting the unacceptable. Anti-scab legislation will remove that threat, at least for federally regulated workers.”.Any replacement worker ban would apply to Crown corporations and private sector employees under the Canada Labour Code including airlines, banks, grain mills, marine shippers, railways and telecom companies. Some 950,000 Canadians work in the sector..New Democrat MPs in private bills have proposed $10,000-a day fines for employers that hired replacement workers in case of strike or lockout. “This is something that is a longstanding principle of New Democrats,” Party leader Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South, BC) earlier told reporters..“We are against replacement workers,” said Singh. “We have tabled what has been known colloquially as anti-scab legislation many times and we will continue to fight for that.”.“We would make sure that passes,” said Singh. “We would want to see that happen. That is a priority and it’s long been a priority for us.”
