Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan held a town hall in Windsor and met with local labour leaders Tuesday to discuss the new anti-scab bill introduced last week he feels is the most important piece of labour legislation in Canadian history.
Bill C-58, which was the product of work with the NDP, will ban the use of replacement workers during strikes in federally regulated areas of the economy, in both the public and private sectors.
Article content
Article content
“The labour movement has been asking for anti-scab legislation for so long — even before we became a country in 1867,” O’Regan said. “The notion hanging over these workers, the dignity of their and the work itself being taken away, was archaic.
“It (legislation) will provide more stability. It makes (companies) take bargaining more seriously. That there’s no easy way out, the pressure is real.”
O’Regan said too often employers have played the long game of threatening or actually using replacement workers or waiting for the federal government to legislate employees back to work.
“Those days are done,” O’Regan said. “Bargain, get the job done.
“This is a far more mature, professional approach to labour relations. Using replacement workers is toxic to a workplace.”
The legislation would impact over a million workers and would carry fines up to $100,000 for employers who violate the act.
Some of the sectors federally regulated include telecommunications, media, air and rail transportation and financial services.
...
Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP advises Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVN) investors that the firm is investigating potential legal claims arising from alleged false statements about the company’s proj...