(Ottawa) Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan tabled his anti-scab bill in the House of Commons on Thursday after more than a year of negotiations with the New Democratic Party (NDP). This is one of the most important demands of the agreement between the Liberals and the New Democrats which allows Justin Trudeau’s minority government to govern as if it were the majority.
Jagmeet Singh made a triumphant entry into the foyer of the House of Commons to the applause of some of his MPs and union leaders.
“After decades of battle, we finally forced the government to present an anti-scab bill,” said the New Democratic leader at a press briefing.
Less than an hour later, Minister O’Regan appeared in front of the cameras with a smile, talking about a historic day. He said Bill C-58 would bring “more certainty and stability to collective bargaining.” He hopes to have the unanimity of all parties in the House of Commons for rapid adoption.
It will also be impossible to circumvent the legislation with the use of teleworking, as La Presse revealed on Wednesday. Any employer who violates the law would face a financial penalty of $100,000 per day.
Exceptions would apply in the event of situations that pose a risk to health and safety or if there was a risk of significant damage to the environment or the employer’s property.
Both parties should agree on the tasks to be maintained in the event of a strike or lockout. If they cannot agree within 15 days, the Industrial Relations Board (CRI) would have 90 days to decide. The government intends to increase the resources of this body to increase its number of inspectors, but has not specified to what extent.
Currently the CRI takes an average of 212 days before being able to study a request and renders its decision in 17 days.
The tabling of the bill was welcomed by unions, including the Confederation of National Unions (CSN) and the Quebec Federation of Workers (FTQ). They hope that Quebec will follow in Ottawa’s footsteps and include teleworking in its anti-scab law which dates from the late 1970s.
British Columbia is the only other province to have anti-scab legislation.
More details to come.