Add your voice in support of dockworkers at the Port of Montrea and Port of Quebec l by writing the labour minister and demanding the government respect the workers’ charter rights and supporting locked out workers!

If they do it to them, they will do it to us too!

https://cupe.ca/hands-montreal-longshore-workers-charter-rights-send-letter-minister-labour-today

https://cupe.ca/send-solidarity-message-cupe-2614

CUPE’s Water is Life campaign raises awareness about the ongoing struggles of Indigenous peoples, and shows how CUPE members can listen, learn and act.

https://cupe.ca/water-is-life

Image : Aaron Paquette
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Federal anti-scab legislation passed 3rd reading in May 2024, clearing its final hurdle in the House of Commons, and significantly levelling the playing field for workers’ rights in federally-regulated sectors like communications and transportation.

“This is a long-awaited victory for workers’ bargaining rights in Canada,” said CUPE’s National President Mark Hancock. “And let’s not forget, this is what happens when the NDP - backed by the labour movement - put the rights of workers front and centre in the House of Commons. Let’s also not forget that Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has voted against anti-scab legislation not once, not twice, but eight times in the past. The Conservatives only voted for it this time because they knew better than to pick a fight with the labour movement as we approach the next election.”

Currently, employers are able to hire scabs in order to break the morale and bank accounts of striking and locked out workers, as is the case with members of CUPE 2614 at the Port of Quebec, who have been locked out and replaced with scabs since September 2022.

Employers also use scab labour to ship jobs out of the country, as is the case with members of CUPE 2815 who have been locked out from their jobs at Videotron in Gatineau, Quebec since October 2023. While these workers have gone seven months without a paycheque, Videotron is able to continue business as usual, while paying bottom-dollar to ship jobs out of the country.

Anti-scab legislation will make all of this illegal. Employers will no longer be allowed to hire replacement workers (scabs) during strikes and lockouts, thereby balancing the scales and giving more power back to workers to fight for better wages and a better life.

“Today we have climbed another rung on the ladder toward justice and fairness for workers,” said CUPE’s National Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick. “This marks an extraordinary milestone in the fight for workers’ rights in Canada, and a profound testament to the power of workers when we organize and join with our allies in Parliament to fight for what is right. We never gave up on the fight for anti-scab legislation for federally-regulated industries, and we won’t stop until it’s in effect in all jurisdictions across Canada.”

Anti-scab legislation has already been shown to reduce the length and frequency of strikes and lockouts in Quebec and British Columbia where anti-scab laws are already in effect provincially. The Kinew NDP government in Manitoba has also promised anti-scab legislation. The federal legislation must now be confirmed by the Senate before receiving Royal Assent.

Inflation in January 2022 reached a high of over 5 per cent. This is putting pressure on the Bank of Canada to increase interest rates, which it has been doing slowly the past year.

Most economists think inflation is caused by too much money in the economy. Central banks try to solve this problem by raising interest rates. Raising interest rates makes borrowing money more expensive and increases returns on savings. This causes consumers and businesses to delay spending and to borrow less. As a result, there is less money moving around in the economy and inflation decreases.

However, the inflation we’re seeing today is not being fueled by an excess of money. It is the result of supply chain disruptions and pandemic uncertainty. For workers, this situation will only compound the negative effects of increased interest rates.

There are several ways rising interest rates may affect CUPE members. Click here to read more.

Workers seeking wage increases often get blamed for inflation, but right now people are asking questions about the role of corporate profits in rising prices.

Some large multinational corporations have been very open with their investors that price increases are resulting in higher revenue. In 2021, multinational Proctor & Gamble said that they needed to raise prices to offset increased costs and uncertainty. But in January 2022, they reported to shareholders that their revenue in the last three months of 2021 actually had been up 6 per cent from the year before. This news prompted their stock price to go up, leading to even more profit for senior executives and shareholders.

How can companies get away with higher than necessary price increases during a global pandemic? And why do they feel comfortable drawing attention to their skyrocketing profits? Click here to find out more.

Strikes are a powerful tool that workers rely on to make their voices heard. This is especially true during tough economic times. When economic pressures like inflation push workers to their breaking point, labour action often follows. We saw this clearly in the 1970s, when rising inflation led to a spike in strikes and lockouts.

As inflation surged again in 2022, many wondered if we would see a similar rise in strikes and lockouts. Recently released data confirms that we did, particularly in Quebec.

The Labour Program at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) tracks work stoppages due to strikes or lockouts that result in 10 or more lost person-days of work. A person-day of work represents one person’s work for one day. For example, 10 workers on strike for one day counts as 10 person-days of work lost.

Looking at a rolling 5-year average starting in the early 2000s, the number of work stoppages in Canada has been slowly falling over time. But in 2023, this trend reversed, with a dramatic increase in work stoppages in Quebec and a slight rise in the rest of Canada. Quebec recorded 690 work stoppages in 2023, a 9.5-fold increase over the previous 5-year average. The rest of Canada saw a 1.4-fold increase, with 88 work stoppages.

More than 600 of the work stoppages in Quebec occurred in the public sector. The majority of these work stoppages were part of the historic Common Front movement. The Common Front coalition involved 420,000 workers from multiple public sector unions participating in a series of rotating strikes beginning in November 2023. Although the Quebec government initially offered the coalition a 9% wage increase over 5 years, the strikers managed to secure a 17.4% increase by the time their labour action ended in late December 2023.

But while the increase in the number of work stoppages in 2023 was significant, it doesn’t tell the whole story. To fully grasp the scale of these labour actions, we also need to consider the person-days lost.

Person-days lost reflect not only how many work stoppages occurred but also how long they lasted and how many people were involved. This metric therefore gives us a clearer picture of how disruptive labour actions really are. For instance, a single, long-lasting strike involving many workers (more person-days lost) can have a much greater impact on productivity and the economy than several shorter strikes with fewer participants (fewer person-days lost).

The 5-year average for person-days lost remained fairly stable throughout the 2000s in Quebec and declined across the rest of Canada between 2005 and 2019. However, in 2023, Quebec reported 4.6 million person-days lost to work stoppagestimes higher than the previous 5-year average. In the rest of Canada, 1.96 million person-days were lost, double the previous 5-year average.

When you see an increase in work stoppages and an even larger spike in person-days lost like we did across Canada in 2023, it means that strikes and lockouts were not only more numerous than in previous years but also lasted longer or involved more workers. The data from Quebec and the rest of Canada specifically shows that the 2023 labour actions involved more workers. We know this because the average duration of work stoppages actually declined in 2023.

We only have data for the first five months of 2024, but so far, the number of person-days lost has returned to pre-2023 levels. Nevertheless, the dramatic rise in work stoppages and person-days lost in 2023, especially in Quebec, highlights the significant role that collective action plays in protecting workers’ rights during challenging economic periods. For public sector workers, this serves as a clear reminder of the power we hold when we stand together. As economic pressures continue, we must remain vigilant and prepared to use every method at our disposal to secure fair wages and working conditions