Mr. Speaker, on this group of motions, I will try to remain calm, but it will not be easy.
This bill, I repeat, is supposed to modernize the Canada Labour Code, to take into account different labour relations, to take into account that relations between unions and employers have changed considerably.
Instead of facilitating negotiations and, should they break down, the exercice of the right to strike or to lock out, which can rapidly lead to a negotiated settlement, this bill makes the rules more rigid and makes negotiating and reaching a settlement even more difficult.
In this regard, it is a dismal failure. And one wonders what prompted the minister to completely overlook what could have improved the conditions under which the right of association and the right to strike can be exercised in Canada.
My colleague from Hochelaga-Maisonneuve spoke about the obligation to give 72 hours' notice before the right to strike can be exercised. For my part, I would like to talk about what comes before. What comes before that is the requirement for unions to exercise their right to strike within 60 days of obtaining such right, otherwise they have to go back to their members for another strike vote. This is the provision of this bill that I find most difficult to understand. I was a negotiator at one time and, when I see this proposal, I wonder if those who thought of it have ever been involved in negotiations.
If a union-and let us not forget that several of these unions are national-has just obtained the right to strike, it will start a negotiation process that could take a long time. If, after nearly 60 days, it has not come to an agreement, what will it do? Will it do everything it can to come to an agreement at the risk of exceeding the 60 day limit and losing the right to strike? No. If it is responsible, it will stop negotiating instead of pursuing the negotiations and trying to find a solution. It will stop negotiating and submit a report that will allow it to win another strike vote.
This 60 day rule will hinder the negotiation process instead of making it easier. It will impede the pursuit of a settlement and force unions to hold more strike votes. In the end, as I was saying, it will make the conditions that can lead to a settlement more rigid, less flexible.
When you know that it is the basis of this bill, when you see that the right to strike or the right to lock out cannot be exercised-and I insist because some disputes end up in a lock-out or a strike and, at the beginning, nobody knows what will come first. When you add to that the 72 hour notice rule, it is even more difficult to understand.
When things start to go wrong in a business and work starts to slow down, as a precautionary measure, the employer may be
tempted to lock his workers out to avoid having to keep paying them to produce less. Let us be honest about that.
No lockout action can be taken without giving notice at least 72 hours in advance. Similarly, a union anxious to exercise its right to strike because bargaining is at a standstill will also be subject to a 72-hour notice provision. Moreover, should no strike occur on the date indicated, a new 72-hour notice will have to be given.
Again, this makes the use of these job actions available to either the employer or the workers rigid. Understandably, everyone wants to prevent strikes and lockouts, but sometimes, on matters of principle or money issues translating into matters of principle, one side or the other figures the only way to get what it wants is to use leverage.
In those circumstances, the rules set out in the labour code must help and facilitate a settlement, and not make things drag on endlessly, get in the way of a settlement or even preclude a settlement that could have been reached had it not been for these rules. The fact of the matter is that we are going to end up with a worse Canada Labour Code than the one we had.
That is quite embarrassing. I guess we could say the minister and the parliamentary secretary will have pie in the face, but in the end those who will be stuck with bad rules and a bad labour code are those in the field, those entitled to these services and the businesses that will have to contend with additional problems.
At committee, we tried to get the point across that it made no common sense but, I will repeat it in this place, the way business was conducted in committee in no way does credit to this government.
Legislation is passed a dozen at a time, but the legislation that is passed has no bearing on the code, is of no use to bargaining parties and is not the type that can be subject to arbitration or to a board decision. When it comes to drafting something that will make up a code, the committee should listen to those concerned and to the official opposition when it has something to say on the matter. We did not set out to embarrass the government because ultimately this is meant to serve the public. We have tried to help the government. But we were literally bulldozed out of the way; there is no other way to describe what happened at the human resources development committee.
When all we have is ten minutes to discuss this important segment of the Canada Labour Code reform at report stage, we have no choice but to raise our voices.