Defend the right to strike - Support Port Workers

Port employers are fighting to end collective bargaining by locking out workers and then calling on the state to enact anti-union laws.

 

Workers at BC ports, in Montreal and the Port of Quebec have been trying to negotiate for new contracts that protect their jobs and help them keep up with the rising cost of living. They have been without contracts for 18 months in BC and Montreal and 2 years in Quebec City.

 

The bosses, rather than bargain in good faith, have stalled and shut down negotiations and now the Trudeau government has come to their rescue.

 

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnonis forcing binding arbitration on the process, which favours the employers because it calls for an end to the picket lines—cutting the workers off from their most potent source of power.

 

This is a pattern that the bosses have adopted to try and drive down the militancy of workers who are reeling from the rising cost of essentials and are fighting back in numbers. Since 2022, 1.4 million workersin Canada have gone on strike.

 

The Liberals have, once again, shown their true colours—siding with the billionaires against the working class.

 

NDP Leader, Jagmeet Singh, spoke after the decision was announced and said, "Justin Trudeau is again making it clear to the ports CEOs and all big corporations — being a bad boss pays off.”

 

Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, said, “Workers are falling behind while corporations post record profits and the Labour Minister’s decision to impose binding arbitration further undermines workers’ fundamental rights. We deserve better. People are struggling to make ends meet, but employers refuse to fairly compensate those who make it all happen. It's time for change—workers deserve a better deal!”

 

While those are welcome sentiments, they need to be backed up by action. This is an assault on the right to collective bargaining that, if allowed to succeed, will undermine workers rights.

 

Already the threat of a postal workers strike is being met with calls from bosses groups for Federal government intervention. The NDP, CLC, OFL and all union bodies need to move in solidarity with port workers to build the kind of working class fightback that can end Trudeau’s anti-union assault.