Mr. Speaker, Bill C-66 provides that the right to strike or lockout will be subject to the holding of a secret ballot vote during the previous 60 days and the giving of a notice of at least 72 hours.
This is a very anti-union and unfair provision for workers and unions. The right to strike is being subjected to so many conditions and restrictions that the next step will be to eliminate this right.
First, the right to strike and the right to lockout are put on the same level. However, the right to strike is exercised by a group of workers. There has to be a majority vote. But in the case of a lockout, there is no vote. A company official decides when to lock employees out, which is unfair.
Then, a secret ballot vote must be held. This means that the union must convince workers that the offer is not acceptable, that the ultimate recourse against the employer is to take a strike vote. This is not easy for unions. During my years with the FTQ, the Quebec federation of labour, we had to convince the majority of workers of the need, at some point, for a strike vote.
Meanwhile, the employer who works every day with a group of employees may sometime exert undue and unwarranted pressure to convince them of the opposite, of the fact that they must not go on strike, that working conditions are acceptable, that the offer is an excellent one, etc.
Worse still is the fact that, to have the right to strike, the vote must be held at most 60 days before the strike. This means that if negotiations last for months, and even years, several consecutive strike votes will have to be held. This is unfair for unions. Unions should have the right to assess the situation and to set a date for a strike vote. The union should also be the one deciding when the vote will apply and when the strike will begin.
Not only must this secret ballot vote be held within 60 days of the strike, but an advance notice of at least 72 hours must be given to the employer. This is going too far. One wonders what will happen to the right to strike in Canada, a right that is provided under the Canada Labour Code. For all intents and purposes, it will be almost impossible to go on strike with so many restrictions.
There are conventions under the International Labour Organization that recognize the workers' right to strike. This provision, introduced by the government as an amendment to the Canada Labour Code, goes against the ILO principles that recognize the right to strike.
I wanted to express my absolute opposition to these very unfair and anti-union provisions.