Yes. Under subclause 9(5), contract workers hired just before a strike should also be considered scabs because, yes, the employer has the ability to hire prior to a labour dispute, a lockout or a strike starting.
Also, under subclause 6(1), the essential services provision, the parties have 15 days to come to an agreement, and after that the CIRB has 90 days to render a decision if there is no agreement reached. We think that's a very long period of time, especially if the parties are—hopefully—in bargaining during that time, that a 45-day window is a much more reasonable period of time to render a decision and that the Industrial Relations Board should be well staffed in order to meet that kind of deadline.