Mr. Speaker, I rise to support motion No. 4 amending Bill C-89. That motion, tabled by the hon. member for Beauport-Montmorency-Orléans, seeks to give the House a say in the sale of CN's assets which are not directly related to railway transport.
The minister said on several occasions that he intends to sell off one by one those assets which are not directly related to railway transport. One of CN's major subsidiaries, AMF Technotransport, located in Montreal's Pointe-Saint-Charles, will be sold in that fashion. Last year, that company, which employs over 1,300 workers, suffered losses of some $35 million.
When he appeared before the committee, the minister said that AMF's future was precarious, but he refused to pledge to ensure the company's survival. Yet, should AMF close its doors, the consequences would be disastrous for the Montreal region. CN workers fear that privatization may deprive them of their job security and pensions. In fact, the process has already started.
Today, the media announced that the arbitrator just imposed a new collective agreement which, among other setbacks, provides less job security. The CAW union, which represents some 12,500 CN workers, made representations concerning the privatization
process. The workers have already had bad experiences with the privatization of two sections of CN: Route Canada and AMF.
In the case of Route Canada, the new owners bought the company and then shut it down, thus putting over 2,000 workers on the street. AMF, which is now a CN subsidiary, did not recognize the collective agreement. It took the courts over a year to restore the workers' rights. Several unions represent CN workers, particularly, as I just mentioned, the CAW. Overall, the unions are in favour of maintaining CN's Crown corporation status, but they want to be represented on the board of directors.
It should be pointed out that these workers are very productive. Following very tough negotiations and sometimes long strikes, they managed to get acceptable and reasonable salaries and working conditions. However, CN's management obtained, and continues to demand, concessions from the unions, including on the issue of job security. However, job security, which is only one element, was gained in exchange for other concessions.
Therefore, unions are concerned about the future since there have been massive layoffs over the past few years. Moreover, management positions have not been affected to the same degree.
I believe it to be urgent to improve labour relations at CN, a task which should be mainly the responsibility of the company's management. Unions, and the workers they represent, are worried about their jobs. This amendment seeks to maintain some degree of job protection for workers.
The bill contains no provision protecting the CN workers' vested rights or maintaining the present level of employment. This is a very important issue for workers. They do not want to find themselves without a job in the new company. As I said, the problem is the same for the employees of the sister companies such as AMF Technotransport, in Montreal. The vast majority of CN employees have more than 20 years seniority.
I will monitor the new company to make sure it abides scrupulously by the collective agreements in effect in this Crown corporation. I intend to monitor closely the transfer to the new employer of the rights and obligations under these agreements.