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On Monday, the short consultation on the Canada Labour Code, initiated just a few weeks ago by the federal government, came to an end. We have sent a clear message that Unifor is united across the country to protect our right to strike!
On May 13th, your Local Executive Board members attended an emergency webinar regarding the topic. The main focus of the webinar was concerns around proposed changes that could impact collective bargaining rights, strike rights, and federal labour relations overall.
Some of the key points discussed:
- Unifor strongly opposed the rushed consultation timeline from the federal government, noting there were only approximately 35 days to review and respond to 64 major labour code questions.
- Leadership raised concerns that federal employers are lobbying for changes that would weaken unions and reduce bargaining leverage.
- Significant focus was placed on Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, which the government has recently used to end lawful strikes and impose binding arbitration without traditional back-to-work legislation going through Parliament.
- Unifor’s legal position is that recent use of Section 107 may violate constitutionally protected strike rights and several court challenges are currently underway.
- Unifor also opposed extending bargaining timelines, conciliation periods, or cooling-off periods, stating the current process already works.
- Discussion also included concerns around employers increasingly relying on government intervention instead of bargaining fairly during disputes.
- Unifor plans to continue lobbying efforts throughout the summer and fall and will be encouraging locals to submit responses and engage local MPs on these issues.
One of the main themes repeated throughout the webinar was:
“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”
Our National union's final submission and position covered all themes and questions put forward by the government. It also stated the following:
- 35 days are insufficient to properly review the most significant labour legislation in place for workers in federally-regulated sectors
- each theme and question would require its own review and consultation process to properly determine the impact of potential changes
- as a union representing more than 70,000 workers in federally-regulated workplaces, we have extensive experience negotiating under the federal labour code. At the core of this exercise, our union is extremely worried about changes that would restrict or undermine the right to strike in sectors such as aviation, road, rail, marine, media and telecommunications among others. Our union has a long and proud history of fighting and defending for worker's rights, including the right to free collective bargaining and the right to strike.
As the situation develops and more information and next steps become available, we will be sure to keep our members informed.
Read also: Unifor celebrates International Court of Justice reaffirmation of the international right to strike