18 October 2006

Guild members could tip scales
in favour of federal anti-scab laws

TNG Canada/CWA

TNG Canada's almost 10,000 members, plus their friends and family, could well play a crucial role in ensuring passage of federal anti-scab legislation in the House of Commons on Oct. 25. The last time such a bill was put before the House, in April 2005, it lost by only 12 votes.

The Canadian Labour Congress, with which the Guild is affiliated, is running a national campaign to win support among Members of Parliament for Bill C-257, which would ban the use of replacement workers during strikes and lockouts in workplaces covered by the Canada Labour Code.

Reform of federal labour laws would also set the stage for progressive changes at the provincial level, the CLC argues.

The Canadian Media Guild, TNG Canada's largest Local, is urging its members to ask their MPs to support Bill C-257, the second attempt in two years at reforming Canada's labour laws. An overwhelming majority of CMG's members work for federally regulated employers, who would be bound by the legislation.

“Labour came really close to getting this anti-scab legislation passed the last time and it’s important that it go through this time,” says TNG Canada/CWA Director Arnold Amber, a member of the executive council of the CLC and outgoing president of the CBC branch of the CMG. “Imagine how angry we would have been last year during the CBC lockout if, while we were marching around outside, scabs were brought in to do our work. CBC management did not do that, but the law is necessary to prevent it from happening to any group of workers.”

The CMG is urging its members to "call or write your MP and ask him or her to vote in favour of Bill C-257, if you feel comfortable doing so. ... The CMG understands that some members, especially those working as journalists, may feel unable to take part in this campaign. However, please consider passing the message along to friends and family."

The CLC notes that federal labour laws cover about one-tenth of jobs in the country, "but they are jobs which play a critical role in our national economy. And in today's world, reducing the risk of disruption at our borders, airports and telecommunications networks is vital."

Quebec and British Columbia, which outlawed the use of replacement workers in 1977 and 1993 respectively, "have realized smoother labour relations and substantially fewer days of work lost to strikes or lockouts. In fact, the year after B.C. passed its anti-scab law, the amount of work time lost to labour disputes was cut in half," says the CLC.

The CLC points out that 97 per cent of labour negotiations end successfully without the disruption of a strike or lockout. "Yet the few occasions where employers used scabs stand out among the more prolonged and violent labour disputes – the Ekati Mine in the Northwest Territories, Lakeside Packers in Alberta, Seimans in Southwestern Ontario, Telus, Videotron and Alliant."

“The research is clear: when scabs are used during strikes and lockouts, labour disputes last longer and often get nastier,” says CLC president Ken Georgetti. “Bargaining is stalled, communities are divided, and tempers flare. Hundreds (often thousands) of work days are lost, and everyone suffers.

“For workers, watching someone steal your job creates anger, bitterness, and resentment that damages morale and productivity for years to come. For employers, the tiny minority of managers who use scab labour set a bad example, and take Canadian labour relations back to the nineteenth century,” Georgetti says.

The bitterness created by crossing the picket line is palpable in the Oct. 28, 2005 blog entry by “robSource,” a member of the Telecommunications Workers Union locked out for four months by Telus.

“As for the scabs? I hope you all know that each of you contributes hugely to the loss of union bargaining power. That directly affects your employment security, and your own wallet. For the life of me, I can’t understand the lack of ability to view ‘the big picture’ and I guess I never really will,” robSource wrote.

“A lot of you say ‘You can’t guarantee jobs.’ I’m not asking for the promise of a job forever more. What I’m demanding is that if there is work to be done that is core to Telus business, that Telus employees — the ones who have built this company — be the ones to do it. No need for the work? No job — that’s fine. If the work needs to be done though? We should be the ones doing it.”

(With files from the Canadian Media Guild.)