Challenges Facing the Workers in
Quebec
Attempts by the Ruling
Elite to Dismantle
Workers'
Collective Defence Organizations
- Pierre Chénier -
In an effort to dismantle the collective defence
organizations of
workers, workers' organized resistance in defence of rights is
being
blamed for causing disruption in various sectors of the economy.
Workers' collective defence organizations and organized struggle
in
defence of rights are said to be an attack on the economy and
individual
workers, who allegedly merely want to make a living and don't
care
about anything else.
 The
construction sector is one in which concerted attempts are being
made
by governments to smash workers' collective defence
organizations. The
measures they are taking aim to give construction companies
unfettered
ability to act with impunity on construction sites so as to
maximize
profits no matter what the consequences on the workers'
health and safety and the safety of the public.
Turning truth on its head, the claim is made that
union
intervention on construction sites in defence of health and
safety
constitutes intimidation against employers and individual workers
"who
just want to work." That was the allegation against Quebec crane
operators when they valiantly refused to show up for work for a
week in
June 2018 to protest a dangerous new regulation downgrading
their
professional training and threatening the safety of crane
operators and
the public.
To say the crane operators were using
intimidation
against their
colleagues who allegedly merely wanted to go to work is a
slander. The
crane operators were opposed to a regime which demanded they
abide by
whatever new regulations the government brings in without due
consideration and investigation of the effects and without having
the
consent of those directly affected and their
organizations.[1]
The Quebec Construction Commission (CCQ), the
agency of
the Quebec
government mandated to manage labour relations, vocational
training and
workforce management in the sector, claims to have recorded
several
cases of intimidation carried out by the union against individual
crane
operators. The CCQ did not produce the evidence but said it
may use the information to prosecute workers and their union.
The CCQ constantly refers to the authority it
possesses
with the R-20 legislation, the Act respecting labour
relations,
vocational training and workforce management in the construction
industry, which contains a number of provisions on
intimidation.
The Act
stipulates, "Any person who uses intimidation or threats that are
reasonably
likely to cause an obstruction to or a slowdown or stoppage of
activities on a job site is guilty of an offence and liable to a
fine
of $1,137 to $11,370 for each day or part of a day
during
which the
offence continues."
The Act continues, "Any person who uses
intimidation or
threats
that are likely to compel an employer to make a decision
regarding
workforce management in the construction industry or to prevent
the
employer from making such a decision, or otherwise imposes such a
decision, is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine
of $1,541
to $15,373." In addition, union representatives found guilty
under
the
Act can be prohibited from exercising their duties for a
five-year
period."
The intent is clear: make it ever more difficult
and
even illegal
for workers' collective defence organizations to intervene in
defence
of proper working conditions.
 Also
striking in connection with this is how the Charbonneau
Commission is
used in part to portray workers' organizations as criminal,
mafia-type
bodies.
The Quebec Liberal government created the
Charbonneau
Commission
in 2011 with the official mandate to examine and eradicate
collusion
and corruption in the awarding of public construction contracts
and
expose links that might exist between this corruption and
political
party financing, and the infiltration of the construction
industry
by organized crime.
The Charbonneau Commission insinuated that
workers'
collectives and
allied organizations waging concerted actions in defence of the
rights
of workers, which occasionally lead to disruption of activities
on work
sites, are akin to mafia organizations. The Commission asserted
this
without even looking into the aims behind such actions of the
organized workers or the reasons precipitating their actions, the
causes they were defending and the outcomes they hoped to achieve
through their actions. The Charbonneau Commission's anti-worker
views
and recommendations were incorporated into some of the amendments
of
the R-20 legislation.
Meanwhile, many of the constant activities and
problems
that
seriously disrupt the lives of those in the construction sector,
sometimes tragically resulting in deaths and serious injuries,
remain
unattended and uninvestigated. Those responsible for refusing to
take
action to resolve problems are not held to account. The ruling
elite
want a situation
where construction workers are fair game for whatever the big
companies
want to do to maximize their private profits.
Similar to how the construction workers in Quebec
are
being targeted, the Ford government in Ontario is also targeting
the
professional organizations of nurses, teachers and other
professional
sectors. By reducing members of these professions into voiceless
individuals, all of them are rendered defenceless. The situation
facing
workers today makes it all the more important to have them speak
out
and strengthen their organized struggles to block such attacks on
their
unions and open a way forward in defence of their rights and the
rights
of all.
Note
1. In Ontario, the Ford government's Bill 66
slanders organized construction workers in a similar way with the
accusation that they are "bankrupting" public institutions such
as
school boards, colleges, universities, hospitals and
municipalities
because of the measures and arrangements contained in
"generous" collective agreements. Bill 66 was tabled without
discussion
or consent of those directly affected. If the bill passes,
organized
construction workers employed by designated public institutions
will be
removed from those sites where they are now working and any
future
sites with their negotiated collective agreements declared null
and void. This opens the door to the massive hiring of individual
construction workers in these public sectors without the
protection of
a union or a collective agreement. This anti-worker dictate of
the Ford
government in the service of the financial oligarchy cannot be
considered anything other than criminal.
This article was published in
Number 5 - February 14, 2019
Article Link:
Challenges Facing the Workers in
Quebec: Attempts by the Ruling
Elite to Dismantle
Workers'
Collective Defence Organizations - Pierre Chénier
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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