The federal NDP announced on Tuesday their plan to propose anti-scab legislation that would support workers like the employees affected in the Co-op refinery lockout.
NDP labour critic Scott Duvall said that legislation will be re-introduced after the Liberal government voted against the original proposal from the NDP in 2016 that would have banned the use of replacement workers.
“The use of scabs undermines workers’ ability to negotiate fairly and it hurts labour relations. Scabs prolong strikes and give the employer little incentive to reach a fair deal,” stated Duvall in a media release.
“Trudeau likes to say that he supports workers, but when push comes to shove, he always takes the side of big corporations.”
Duvall said the use of scabs is a problem that affects people across Canada. He hopes the Trudeau government can take charge of this issue despite the labour dispute between Co-op and Unifor being under provincial jurisdiction.
“In Regina, the company’s use of scabs has raised many concerns,” added Duvall. “The federal government needs to protect workers and lead the way by banning replacement workers like some provinces have already done.”
Members of Unifor, including national president Jerry Dias and Unifor Local 594 president Kevin Bittman, met with Federated Co-op CEO Scott Banda on Monday afternoon in Saskatoon following a rally outside the refinery in Regina.
Neither side has provided an update following their meeting.
