{"id":89254,"date":"2023-11-14T14:10:38","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T19:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=89254"},"modified":"2024-09-01T09:54:27","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01T13:54:27","slug":"opinion-larry-savage-discusses-reactions-to-legislation-that-will-prohibit-the-use-of-replacement-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2023\/11\/opinion-larry-savage-discusses-reactions-to-legislation-that-will-prohibit-the-use-of-replacement-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"OPINION: Larry Savage discusses reactions to legislation that will prohibit the use of replacement workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article written by Larry Savage, Professor of Labour Studies at Brock University, originally appeared in The Conversation<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

The federal government has just\u00a0introduced Bill C-58, its much anticipated\u00a0\u201canti-scab\u201d legislation. If adopted, the law will prohibit the use of replacement workers in the event of a strike or lockout in any federally regulated industry.<\/p>\n

The legislation will also require the parties to negotiate a\u00a0maintenance of activities agreement\u00a0in advance of a labour dispute to allow for the undertaking of maintenance work to protect the integrity and safety of the workplace.<\/p>\n

The bill, a product of the Liberal and NDP\u00a0confidence-and-supply agreement, represents the first time a federal government has committed to an anti-scab law.<\/p>\n

Unions have long\u00a0advocated for a ban\u00a0on replacement workers, arguing their use unduly shifts power to employers and gives the boss an unfair advantage in collective bargaining.<\/p>\n

In particular, union leaders justify the need for a ban by pointing to instances where employers chose to\u00a0lock out\u00a0workers and \u201cstarve them out\u201d while continuing to operate with scab labour.<\/p>\n

Business organizations, on the other hand, frame their opposition to anti-scab laws by focusing on the potential for economic disruption. They argue that a ban on replacement workers would give unions\u00a0too much power,\u00a0threaten the survival of small businesses\u00a0and make Canada\u00a0less competitive.<\/p>\n

Assessing the arguments<\/strong><\/p>\n

Making sense of these competing perspectives can be tricky because there is no expert consensus on the economic effects of anti-scab laws. The studies that\u00a0do exist\u00a0offer contradictory evidence based on\u00a0different statistical methods,\u00a0assumptions, time spans\u00a0and the inclusion or exclusion of certain sectors of the economy.<\/p>\n

Opponents of the legislation tend to selectively rely on\u00a0corporate-funded research\u00a0by right-wing think tanks to make the case that a ban on scab labour will drive away business and wreak havoc more generally.<\/p>\n

For example, a\u00a0common argument\u00a0is that if employers can\u2019t use replacement workers, businesses may not be able to operate during a labour dispute and will lose revenue as a result. This outcome would theoretically jeopardize the business and the future job security of the striking workers.<\/p>\n

The reality, however, is that\u00a0no union leader\u00a0is interested in negotiating employers out of business or putting the jobs of their members at risk.<\/p>\n

Despite\u00a0corporate objections\u00a0to the contrary, anti-scab laws can play an integral role in improving union-management relations. At some point, almost all work stoppages end, and workers return to their jobs.<\/p>\n

The resentment caused by the use of scab labour lingers, however, poisoning labour relations and leading to\u00a0lower workplace morale. This is especially true in the case of contentious labour disputes where the use of replacement workers triggered\u00a0picket line violence\u00a0or vandalism.<\/p>\n

Such incidents are far\u00a0less likely\u00a0to occur if scab labour is taken out of the equation.<\/p>\n

Negotiated settlements<\/strong><\/p>\n

The other benefit of an anti-scab law is that it would force employers to\u00a0focus on reaching negotiated settlements\u00a0rather than strategizing over how to best undermine and antagonize union members exercising their right to strike.<\/p>\n

This levels the playing field and brings the focus back to the bargaining table where deals are made.<\/p>\n

The business lobby\u2019s argument that a ban on replacement workers would\u00a0render unions more difficult\u00a0in bargaining is belied by the fact that anti-scab legislation at the provincial level has not produced \u201cstrike-happy\u201d unions.<\/p>\n

Qu\u00e9bec and British Columbia have had legislative bans on replacement workers in provincially regulated industries for decades.\u00a0Neither jurisdiction\u00a0experienced escalating wage demands, dramatic increases in strike activity, or economic collapse as a result.<\/p>\n

Why then should we expect different outcomes as a result of a federal anti-scab law?<\/p>\n

Politics of labour law reform<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth remembering that corporations have\u00a0resisted virtually every single improvement\u00a0to workers\u2019 rights since the 1800s.<\/p>\n

This includes opposition to union recognition, the right to strike, the shorter work week and improved employment standards. Given this history, it shouldn\u2019t surprise anyone that the business lobby is keen to defeat or water down Bill C-58.<\/p>\n

At a\u00a0recent news conference, Federal Labour Minister Seamus O\u2019Regan indicated the law would not take effect until 18 months after receiving Royal Assent.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s an eternity in politics and provides the business lobby with ample time to\u00a0change the government\u2019s mind or pressure it to run out the clock\u00a0in advance of the next federal election.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, unions and their allies are not sitting idle. We can expect unions to continue\u00a0organizing rallies\u00a0and actions\u00a0to pressure the government to deliver on its commitment.<\/p>\n

Previous attempts\u00a0to win anti-scab legislation through opposition-led bills have usually faltered because Liberal MPs got cold feet and switched their votes on second or third reading under pressure from the business community.<\/p>\n

The dynamics are different this time as a result of the confidence-and-supply agreement with the\u00a0union-friendly NDP\u00a0and the government\u2019s desire to use the legislation as a wedge issue to\u00a0undermine recent Conservative efforts\u00a0to gain support from blue-collar union members.<\/p>\n

Whether the legislation will serve that purpose remains an open question.<\/p>\n

But that should not distract from the policy goal of reforming labour laws in ways that promote collective bargaining, protect workers\u2019 rights and level the playing field between unions and employers.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Larry Savage, Professor of Labour Studies at Brock University, wrote a piece published in The Conversation about reactions to legislation that will prohibit the use of replacement workers in the event of a lockout or strike in a federally regulated industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,6,38],"tags":[522,4358,5512],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89254"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89254"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89262,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89254\/revisions\/89262"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}