Montreal Transit Strike Could Be First Test Of New Quebec Labour Law - Beritaja

A onslaught that is upending nationalist transit successful Montreal could beryllium the first trial of a caller rule that gives the Quebec authorities wide powerfulness to extremity labour disputes.

The Montreal transit agency’s 2,400 attraction workers launched a onslaught past week that could past for about of November. The activity stoppage — the 3rd truthful acold this twelvemonth — has constricted autobus and subway work successful the metropolis to highest hours.

Political leaders are urging the 2 sides to resoluteness a conflict that has dragged connected for months. But the workers national is accusing the transit agency of waiting retired the timepiece until a caller labour law, adopted successful the spring, takes effect astatine the extremity of November.

The rule gives Quebec’s labour curate the powerfulness to extremity a conflict by imposing binding arbitration erstwhile a onslaught aliases lockout is deemed harmful to the public. It besides expands the kinds of services that must beryllium maintained during a labour conflict to see those that guarantee “the well-being of the population.”

“In different words, clearly, from now on, employers will nary longer beryllium nether unit to settle,” said Bertrand Guibord, an charismatic pinch the national representing the transit workers, during a property convention connected Monday.

“They will beryllium connected their hands and hold for the business to go chaotic aliases unmanageable earlier the ministry intervenes and puts an extremity to the activity stoppage.”

Barry Eidlin, an subordinate professor of sociology astatine McGill University and an master connected labour movements, said the Quebec rule is “an existential threat to unions.” He said it bears immoderate similarity to a conception of the Canada Labour Code that has been utilized many times by the national authorities successful the past twelvemonth to extremity strikes astatine ports, railway companies and Canada Post.

Both laws springiness ministers “tremendous discretion” to intervene successful labour disputes without “a batch of checks and balances successful place,” he said.

The Montreal transit agency says the caller Quebec rule will not impact its position astatine the bargaining table. It has said the workers’ net demands acold transcend its expertise to pay.

But Eidlin said employers will understand that the caller rule offers a benignant of “escape hatch” that “reduces the inducement to really travel to an statement astatine the bargaining table.” He said the national apt announced the month-long onslaught — from Oct. 31 to Nov. 28 — to put arsenic overmuch unit arsenic imaginable connected the transit agency to scope a woody earlier the rule takes effect connected Nov. 30.

“There’s only truthful agelong that this benignant of disruption could resistance connected earlier they conscionable person to act,” he said.

However, Michelle Llambías Meunier, president and CEO of the Quebec employers council, said Montrealers are “being held hostage” by the strike, which is preventing galore group from getting to work. The assembly is calling connected the provincial authorities to instrumentality the rule earlier than planned if the 2 sides don’t scope an statement soon.

Llambías Meunier said the intent of the rule is not to limit the expertise to strike. “The thought present is that we are seeking to reconcile respect for workers’ authorities pinch the continuity of services that are captious to the organization and the Quebec economy,” she said.

In a connection connected Monday, Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet said the conflict must beryllium resolved arsenic quickly arsenic possible. “This onslaught is erstwhile again causing superior harm to group who dangle connected nationalist transit,” he said. “I stay highly concerned about the advancement of the speech process.”

The attraction workers person already gone connected onslaught doubly this year, for 9 days successful June and 14 days successful September and October. The awesome sticking points successful the talks are costs increases and the outsourcing of immoderate attraction work.

Eidlin said Boulet would apt reason that the transit workers supply “services ensuring the well-being of the population.” But the rule does not specify which services autumn nether that definition, and the database could beryllium “pretty infinite,” he said.

“The logic that strikes are effective, the logic they create unit to compel employers to travel to the table, is because they are disruptive to the day-to-day position quo,” he said.

In August, 4 McGill University module associations revenge a tribunal situation of the caller labour law, arguing it violates the law correct to strike. The national representing the attraction workers has besides promised to situation the rule erstwhile it takes effect.

The national government’s usage of Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to extremity activity stoppages is besides facing ineligible challenges.

Eidlin said it’s apt the matter will extremity up astatine the Supreme Court of Canada, which successful 2015 recognized that the correct to onslaught is constitutionally protected.

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