Amendments to a bill that would prevent workers from crossing picket lines during labour disputes are drawing fire from an organization representing Manitoba businesses.
Changes being pushed by the NDP government as part of an omnibus bill would ban the use of scab labour during a lockout or strike.
On Monday, the bill included further amendments to the Labour Relations Amendment Act that would prevent businesses from luring their own employees back to work.
The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce says the changes trample on workers’ ability to choose whether they should go back to work based on their personal circumstances.
Chamber president and CEO Loren Remillard said Wednesday the changes suggest union rights trump individual rights.
“The reality is we have a very strong, balanced labour environment because we had strong, balanced labour legislation,” he said. “This legislation, even before the change, really tips the scales in favour of organized labour, not necessarily in favour of workers themselves.”
Remillard says the changes introduce unnecessary complexity.
“What happens now if a worker [decides] to cross the picket line? Is the employer going to face accusations of enticement? Who is going to be the arbitrator of that?” he said. “This just further … clouds the situation.”
Labour federation backs changes
The Manitoba Labour Federation has welcomed the changes, saying the new rules would be more in line with anti-scab laws in Quebec and federally regulated industries.
President Kevin Rebeck says employers would still have been allowed to offer things such as higher wages to tempt some staff back.
“It was really a tactic that is used by employers to sow division,” he said.
“If we’re going to have anti-scab legislation, it … [should create] the right incentives to get unions and employers to settle collective agreements, and get people back to work together without souring relationships.”
PCs call for more transparency
The anti-scab legislation has been bundled into the Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act, an omnibus budget bill that, unlike others, isn’t required to go through public hearings.
The ban had first been introduced as a separate bill, but efforts to move that forward were stalled by the Tories during the spring sitting.
Jodie Byram, Progressive Conservative labour critic, said during question period Wednesday the government failed to make appropriate consultations, including with open-shop contractors.
“If consultation was done in the beginning of this legislation process, there wouldn’t have been so many amendments pushed through in the last minute,” she said.
“The changes to this bill needed public input, and this government failed to allow for transparency and input from Manitobans.”
Labour and Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino said in statement Wednesday evening the amendments were made in response to recommendations from the province’s labour management review committee to “strengthen historic legislation.”
Employers who fail to comply with the new law would be deemed to have committed an unfair labour practice, which would allow workers to seek recourse with the Labour Board.
While that’s a positive move forward, Rebeck says, the labour federation would still like to see penalties matching harsher new federal standards. Federally regulated businesses that break the law are subject to fines of up to $100,000 a day.
Two government bills being considered this week by the Manitoba Legislature would expand mandatory training for prospective judges and prevent employers from recruiting workers to cross a picket line during work stoppages.