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Québec City – Bill 89, which was adopted today, will have serious consequences for all Québec labour. “The premier and his labour minister don’t seem to have grasped the damage this new legislation will cause,” said union spokespersons Robert Comeau (APTS), Luc Vachon (CSD), Caroline Senneville (CSN), Éric Gingras (CSQ), Mélanie Hubert (FAE), Julie Bouchard (FIQ), Magali Picard (FTQ), Christian Daigle (CUPE) and Guillaume Bouvrette (SPGQ) .”This is a dark day for workers.”

Consequences for all workers in Québec 

The unions have no doubt that the impact of this bill will be felt well beyond unionized workers. “Gains achieved through bargaining put positive pressure on non-unionized settings, forcing employers to adjust to remain competitive,” the spokespersons said. “The government is attacking all of Québec labour by limiting the ability of workers to defend and improve their working conditions.”

A threat to industrial peace 

Until now, the rules about exercising the right to strike maintained a delicate, but essential, balance between workers and employers. The unions can’t explain why Jean Boulet wanted to upend it all, unless it was to make all employees subject to the good will of employers and to do the bidding of employers and the essentially anti-union Cabinet. “The framework surrounding the exercise of the right to strike, which was, after all, limiting, offered workers the opportunity to improve their working conditions within clear boundaries. The minister seems to be finding pretexts to violate their rights, and as a result is threatening industrial peace,” the union representatives said. “It’s clear to us that the limitations on the right to strike contained in this legislation won’t succeed if tested in the courts. The Canadian and Québec constitutions, along with the Saskatchewan decision, are unequivocal about this. Union rights are human rights.”

Gains made through struggles

For decades, struggles by unionized workers have enabled many advances in society. Pay equity, the CPE network (non-profit childcare centres), minimum wage and parental leave are a few of the gains that union mobilization has achieved. “Our pressure tactics and strikes have allowed millions of Quebecers to benefit from these rights,” the spokespersons said. “Depriving workers of the ability to fight impedes progress for all of Québec society.”

“Trust has been broken”

When Jean Boulet announced his intentions at the end of 2024, unions advised the labour minister to proceed with caution. “We soon realized that the minister wasn’t open to discussions to find satisfactory solutions for everyone,” the spokespersons said. “And we’re struggling to explain this complete about-face by the labour minister, whose tone changed dramatically at that point: he chose to break off dialogue with Québec’s workers. Trust has been broken.”

Source:

APTS, CSD, CSN, CSQ, FAE, FIQ, FTQ, CUPE, SPGQ.