October 26, 2006
The anti-scab Bill has been adopted. Now what?
Spirits were high on Parliament Hill after 167 MPs voted in favour of Bill C-257 on October 25 and sent it to a committee of the House of Commons. The Bill will be coming back to a vote that could make it illegal for employers under the Canada Labour Code to use scabs during labour disputes.
“This is really significant,” says PSAC National Vice-President Patty Ducharme. “We have overcome a hurdle that was impossible in our past attempts to have this legislation adopted. But now that this Bill will be sent to a committee for review before a final vote, there is still a huge amount of work in front of us. We have to continue to work towards this very important modification to the Canada Labour Code to help provide a more level playing field between workers and employers.”
According to Ducharme, “The relentless work done by PSAC activists, working alongside other unions, made it possible to sway many MPs who would have voted against Bill C-257 otherwise. We were told that the lobbying done by PSAC members during the days that preceded the vote made a difference.”
During the vote, more than 75 PSAC members were in attendance in the Gallery. There were some members of the Ekati diamond mine who recently had to deal with scabs during their strike. In addition to several PSAC Board members, most of the Customs Excise Union Douanes Accise Executive and participants of the PSAC Union Development Program in the National Capital Region were also present. The applause and the shouts of joy that followed the adoption of the Bill were so spontaneous and so loud that security guards at the House of Commons didn't know how to react!
Check the PSAC website in the coming weeks for an update including more information about follow up actions.
If you want to know how your MP voted, visit the Parliamentary website.
October 25, 2006PSAC applauds the adoption of the anti-scab Bill
The PSAC applauds the adoption on October 25, in second reading, of Bill C-257, the anti-scab legislation introduced by the Bloc Québécois. Read the press release.
October 23, 2006Canadian Labour Congress Anti-scab legislation Lobby
Fifteen members of the PSAC along with more than one hundred other union members are in Ottawa to take part in the CLC's Anti-Scab Legislation Lobby. Union members are meeting with Members of Parliament October to secure their support for the vote which is scheduled for Wednesday, October 25, 2006. Details, photo .
September 6 , 2006
Stop the use of scabs!
We have another occasion to push for the adoption of anti-scab legislation. Act now!
Right now, you can perform a simple act to stop the use of scabs by employers.
How?
By asking your federal Member of Parliament to vote for Bill C-257, (PDF), which would ban the use of replacement workers (scabs). If adopted, this legislation would apply to all employers governed by the Canada Labour Code.
The PSAC joins the Canadian Labour Congress and many other unions in supporting this Bill that was tabled the Bloc Québécois, as well as a similar Bill tabled by the New Democratic Party.
If you want to stop the use of scabs and restore a true balance between workers and employers, tell your MP that you want him/her to vote in favour of this amendment to the Labour Code. Remind your MP that she/he was elected to represent you.
Debates on this bill will resume mid-October. In the meantime, write to your MP, call him/her or, better still, visit him/her to discuss the matter. It's a good idea to start with the MPs who voted against this amendment, because they could well do so again.
You will find below some tools that will give you more information on the Bill and to help you contact your MP.
April 13, 2006
The Bill has been defeated. The Liberal Cabinet voted against it!
The anti-scab legislation is defeated
On April 13, federal MPs, led by the Liberal Cabinet, rejected Bill C-263, the anti-scab legislation. The vote was 143 against, 131 for the Bill. All the NDP and Bloc Québécois MPs voted in favour of the Bill, as well as some Liberal MPs from Quebec and some members of the Conservative Party.
With the Minister of Labour and Housing, Joe Fontana, in the lead, the Federal Cabinet voted massively against the bill and succeeded in killing it. The majority of Conservative MPs also voted against it.
According to Carole Lavallée, the Bloc Québécois Labour critic, "by defeating this Bloc Québécois anti-scab legislation, Paul Martin's government and Steve Harper's Conservatives have shown that they don't respect workers."
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