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Québec City – The adoption today of Bill 3 by the National Assembly – which is a historic rollback of workers’ rights and a shameful legacy for the Legault government at the end of the parliamentary term – is being jointly denounced by the APTS, the CSD, the CSN, the CSQ, the FAE, the FTQ, the SFPQ and the SPGQ.

“It takes a tremendous amount of gall for the government to dig in its heels this way, when it no longer has a leader or the support of Quebecers,” Robert Comeau (APTS), Luc Vachon (CSD), Caroline Senneville (CSN), Éric Gingras (CSQ), Mélanie Hubert (FAE), Magali Picard (FTQ), Christian Daigle (SFPQ) and Guillaume Bouvrette (SPGQ) jointly said. “That’s without mentioning the lack of social consensus and the warnings issued by unions, civil society organizations and academic experts, who have pointed out the many problems with this bill. Implementing the bill as passed will put a needless, absurd administrative stranglehold on our organizations and workplaces, and the CAQ will bear full responsibility for it.”

This latest government attack on workers’ rights is another in a long series of rollbacks: the attack on the right to strike in An Act to give greater consideration to the needs of the population in the event of a strike or lock-out (Bill 14), which undermines bargaining power and the ability to improve working conditions; the imposition of a discriminatory occupational health and safety system for the education and the health and social services sectors through An Act to amend the Act respecting health services and social services and other legislative provisions (Bill 28); draconian budget cuts to public services; and poorly planned reorganizations. The attacks on fundamental rights are increasing. Ultimately, it’s the collective power of workers that’s being directly targeted.

“The government is no longer even trying to hide its contempt for the rights of workers, the most vulnerable members of our society and the middle class,” the spokespersons said. “Attacking the organizations that defend them won’t improve quality of life for those who need it. The bill has been passed, but we won’t be backing down; we intend to use every tool at our disposal to protect their rights and push back against the anti-democratic policies of a government on its way out. We will raise public awareness and keep up the pressure on the opposition parties. It must be a key issue for the upcoming elections.”

Unions will now study the bill that passed in detail to assess the possible recourse to protect the rights of Québec workers.

SOURCES: APTS, CSD, CSN, CSQ, FAE, FTQ, SFPQ, SPGQ