Stop attacks on the right to strike

It hasn’t been hard explaining to folks why I tabled my Bill C-247 to repeal Section 107 from the Canada Labour Code, ending government violations of the right to strike and collective bargaining.

It’s simple – countless people across Canada already know we need a reset on the treatment of workers in this country. For many workers, every shift, every trip to grocery store and every rent or mortgage bill is a reminder of that fact.

For working folks, every day can be a struggle, whether that’s being forced to work overtime or being offered too few hours in precarious work roles; whether facing discrimination and harassment or violations of health and safety rights in the workplace. All this, just to take home a paycheque that all too often fails to keep pace with rising costs.

That’s why I’ve found it deeply offensive that whenever workers have joined together in solidarity against unfair conditions, the Liberal government has repeatedly trampled on their rights by abusing Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, siding with their bosses and ending strikes.

Nowhere was this clearer than when CUPE flight attendants at Air Canada, most of them women, went on strike demanding livable wages and an end to unpaid work. Within 12 hours, Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu invoked Section 107, siding with Air Canada’s CEO and forcing flight attendants back to unpaid work.

Can you imagine being legislated back to unpaid work? That is exactly what the Liberal government did.

Ever since the Supreme Court ruled against Conservative back-to-work legislation and affirmed that the right to strike is protected by the Constitution, the Liberals have repeatedly abused Section 107 as a legal loophole to keep on strike busting. Before Air Canada, they used it against workers at Canada Post, at CN and CPKC railways, and at ports in Quebec and B.C.

Every time the government breaks a strike, it sends a message to CEOs everywhere that they don’t need to negotiate in good faith with workers. And every time the prime minister lets workers’ rights violations slide in union workplaces, it tells bosses in non-unionized environments that they can get away with even more severe abuses.

But as for the Liberals and Conservatives, they only ever stand by workers for photo ops, not on the picket lines. They’ll talk about protecting good union jobs, but will undermine what makes these jobs so good – the right to strike and collective bargaining to ensure safe working conditions and liveable wages.

If members of Parliament want to regain workers’ trust, passing Bill C-247 is the first step. We need to restore the promise of collective action so workers struggling everywhere can embrace it themselves. And that goes especially for workers whose workplaces have historically been ununionized and who now often struggle the most – whether in the gig economy, service, care or community work.

There’s power in a union. Let’s stop the attacks on it.