Replacement Workers In Canada
Introduction and Purpose
In the area of labour relations, there is much controversy and division between labour and management on the issue of a legislative ban on replacement workers (Cramton et al., 1999). The use of strike replacement workers is one of the most controversial and emotional issues facing industrial relations, and the debate on replacement worker use is marked by differing claims.
This paper provides an overview of the use of replacement workers in unionized environments. More specifically, it investigates the use of replacement workers during strikes or lockouts. It explores Canadian legislation as it pertains to federal and provincial jurisdictions. In addition, the United States (US) and Mexico jurisdictions are briefly …show more content…
For example, in Quebec only managers and supervisors may perform the work of striking unionized members (Savage and Butovsky, 2009). The federal jurisdiction and other selective provinces permit temporary replacements, but these workers must leave employment when the union members return to work after a strike. The majority of strikers do not agree with the use of replacement workers and this may create animosity in the workplace. In relation to striking workers of Ocean Choice International (OCI) who protested the use of replacements, The Herald News (2012) reported that; “Twenty three locked-out trawler workers were arrested in Bay Roberts, NL, as they tried to prevent replacement workers from boarding the Newfoundland Lynx.” This arrest was a result of strikers breaching a provincial Supreme Court injunction that was implemented to prevent a union blockade in front of the vessel. This incident created a tenuous relationship between strikers and replacement workers. Subsequently, the strikers travelled to other ports including Musgrave, Nova Scotia and successfully prevented six replacement workers from performing bargaining unit …show more content…
This is perhaps the greatest difference between the two countries (Budd, 1996). In the US labour relations is the first domain of the nation. State labour laws can be overridden if they interfere with national policy, thus reinstatement laws and procedures are relatively uniform across the country. In Canada, labour legislation is the domain of the province and although provinces originally modeled their systems after the federal jurisdiction, over the years they have developed their own directions (Cornwell,
In the area of labour relations, there is much controversy and division between labour and management on the issue of a legislative ban on replacement workers (Cramton et al., 1999). The use of strike replacement workers is one of the most controversial and emotional issues facing industrial relations, and the debate on replacement worker use is marked by differing claims.
This paper provides an overview of the use of replacement workers in unionized environments. More specifically, it investigates the use of replacement workers during strikes or lockouts. It explores Canadian legislation as it pertains to federal and provincial jurisdictions. In addition, the United States (US) and Mexico jurisdictions are briefly …show more content…
For example, in Quebec only managers and supervisors may perform the work of striking unionized members (Savage and Butovsky, 2009). The federal jurisdiction and other selective provinces permit temporary replacements, but these workers must leave employment when the union members return to work after a strike. The majority of strikers do not agree with the use of replacement workers and this may create animosity in the workplace. In relation to striking workers of Ocean Choice International (OCI) who protested the use of replacements, The Herald News (2012) reported that; “Twenty three locked-out trawler workers were arrested in Bay Roberts, NL, as they tried to prevent replacement workers from boarding the Newfoundland Lynx.” This arrest was a result of strikers breaching a provincial Supreme Court injunction that was implemented to prevent a union blockade in front of the vessel. This incident created a tenuous relationship between strikers and replacement workers. Subsequently, the strikers travelled to other ports including Musgrave, Nova Scotia and successfully prevented six replacement workers from performing bargaining unit …show more content…
This is perhaps the greatest difference between the two countries (Budd, 1996). In the US labour relations is the first domain of the nation. State labour laws can be overridden if they interfere with national policy, thus reinstatement laws and procedures are relatively uniform across the country. In Canada, labour legislation is the domain of the province and although provinces originally modeled their systems after the federal jurisdiction, over the years they have developed their own directions (Cornwell,