Since 1977, Quebec has prohibited the use of scabs during a labor dispute. Several strikes, including that of United Aircraft in 1974, have demonstrated the extent to which the presence of replacement workers aggravates conflicts, generates physical violence, threatens industrial peace and unbalances the balance of power. The reasons that led the Quebec legislator to prohibit the use of replacement workers are still valid today and aim in particular to reduce the number of industrial disputes and to pacify them.
There are no such provisions for businesses under federal jurisdiction (banks, telecommunications, maritime transport, etc.), a sector which covers approximately 22,000 employers and 985,000 employees, 87% of whom are in large size (100 employees or more). Recently, the disputes at the Port of Quebec (2022) and Montreal (2020) as well as at Océan towing (2022), show the deplorable consequences of the use of scabs: lengthening of the duration of negotiations, polarization of the dispute, even recourse possible to violence and harassment on the picket lines.
The presence of strikebreakers during a work stoppage also unbalances the balance of power in favor of the employer by increasing its ability to resist in the event of a labor dispute. However, according to data from the Labor Program, a federal institution that is part of Employment and Social Development Canada, 42% of employers on strike or locked out have called on replacement workers and managers to replace people employees between 2012 and 2022.
The data also show that despite the decrease in the number of labor disputes in Quebec since the 1970s, their average duration has increased sharply, which shows the complexity of the issues at their heart. We have to admit that the time has come to adopt measures that can reduce tensions between the parties and that will allow the labor relations system to adequately fulfill its role. Anti-scab measures are necessarily part of the solution.
This urgency to act is all the greater since, since the Supreme Court ruling in 2015 in the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, the right to strike is considered an essential component of freedom of association. Even if the constitutional protection of the right to strike is recognised, it is still necessary to ensure its effectiveness. It seems imperative that the federal government adopt a real ban on the use of scabs, in particular by ensuring that the notion of establishment takes into account new forms of work organization, such as telecommuting.
In Quebec, the courts have made such an adjustment. Robust oversight mechanisms to ensure compliance with this prohibition and substantial fines to discourage any breaches must also be in place.
A ban on the use of replacement workers would enable the government to fulfill its responsibility under the Canadian model of labor relations: to restore the balance of power between management and labor in order to preserve the free negotiation and the autonomy of the parties in this matter, in addition to helping to reduce the polarization of conflicts.
*Also signed this text:
Stephanie Bernstein, professor in the Department of Legal Sciences (UQAM)
Urwana Coiquaud, professor in the human resources management department (HEC-Montréal)
Mélanie Dufour-Poirier, professor at the School of Industrial Relations (University of Montreal)
Diane Gagné, Professor in the Department of Human Resources Management (UQTR)
Dalia Gesualdi-Fecteau, professor at the School of Industrial Relations (University of Montreal)
Christian Lévesque, Professor in the Department of Human Resources Management (HEC-Montréal)
Isabelle Martin, professor at the School of Industrial Relations (University of Montreal)
Ian MacDonald, professor at the School of Industrial Relations (University of Montreal)
Gregor Murray, professor at the School of Industrial Relations (University of Montreal)
Guylaine Vallée, professor at the School of Industrial Relations (University of Montreal)