Silas: We welcome the positive changes made to the Canadian Labour Code, but provisions impacting the right to strike must be removed.
Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, was introduced in the House of Commons on Monday, September 21, and includes a host of changes to the Canadian Labour Code. The large Bill includes some changes that unions have fought for and that will improve protections for workers, including protecting workers from wage theft and progress on successor rights in contract flipping, welcomed by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).
However, the Bill introduces new measures that allow for a legal strike to be ended if it is seen to be against the national interest. The Canadian labour movement has joined together to ring the alarm over provisions in Bill C-39 that impact the right to strike for workers in federal jurisdictions.
“We know that collective bargaining has brought great gains to workers, from safer workplaces to job security. Taking away the power workers have – their power to negotiate fair wages and benefits – is contrary to the national interest,” said Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.
The CFNU joins the CLC in calling on the government to amend Bill C-39 and remove aspects of the Bill that infringe on union workers’ right to strike.
“Strikes are never taken lightly by unions and their members. The powers found in this new Bill threaten the fair negotiating process and must be amended,” concluded Silas.