Unions tell MPs to strip the power to end strikes from Bill C-39

The 243-page bill fast-tracks major projects through "regions of national interest". It also rewrites Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, which lets a minister order a federally regulated business back to work or into binding arbitration.

"Governments should stay the hell out of bargaining," Mark Hancock, national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, told the committee on Tuesday.

— Mark Hancock, CUPE national president

Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske said the new powers effectively eliminate the right to strike. Unions say employers who expect Ottawa to step in will not bargain in good faith.

Patty Hajdu, minister of jobs and families

Unknown authorUnknown author · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu says the bill strengthens the right to strike: Section 107 could no longer be used before a dispute begins, and a special mediator's report and a national interest test would come first.

Nov

Monday

House of Commons committee

The committee hears witnesses until Nov 16, then studies the bill clause by clause. The Conservatives plan amendments to protect workers' rights.

Canada · 14 d ago

Unions tell MPs to strip the power to end strikes from Bill C-39

"Governments should stay the hell out of bargaining," Mark Hancock, national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, told the committee on Tuesday.

Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske said the new powers effectively eliminate the right to strike. Unions say employers who expect Ottawa to step in will not bargain in good faith.

The committee hears witnesses until Nov 16, then studies the bill clause by clause. The Conservatives plan amendments to protect workers' rights.

Unions tell MPs to strip the power to end strikes from Bill C-39

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