#scab workers

Last week the federal government introduced a new piece of legislation, C-58, which is aimed at banning the practice of employers bringing in replacement workers during a contract dispute. Experts say the legislation is the culmination of decades of work by the labour movement in Canada, while it also represents the fulfilment of a key demand in the Liberal-NDP confidence and supply agreement. Here's what you need to know about the new piece of legislation. What does the bill do? The bill has two main components. The first makes it illegal for employers in federally regulated industries to bring in replacement workers to continue operations previously executed by unionized employees during a legal strike or lockout. Federally regulated industries include sectors like banking and telecommunications, totalling over one million employees. Around a third of those employees are unionized, according to the federal government. The legislation does not, however, apply to the federal public service. The bill also sets out penalties for breaking the rules — $100,000 per day for employers — as well as some exceptions, such as for non-unionized contractors hired before notice of a lockout or strike, or in cases where there could be a threat to health and safety, property or the environment.

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