On September 30, close to 500 workers demonstrated in front of the National Assembly in Quebec
City to reject Bill 59, An Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime, as it was being passed with 72 votes in favour, 44 against and no abstentions.
Workers
from all Quebec union centrals were represented. Participating amongst
them were steelworkers, construction workers, Montreal longshoremen,
Davie shipyard workers from Lévis, Montreal blue collar workers,
health care workers, as well as workers from other sectors. The Union
des travailleuses et travailleurs accidentés ou malades
(UTTAM) was also there with a strong delegation.
The spokesperson for UTTAM represented the stand of all the
participants, when during his brief remarks, he said: "We must all
remember what happened here today in the National Assembly, where a
party that obtained 37 per cent of the vote in the last election gave
itself the right to overwhelm our health and safety regimes, take away
workers' rights while all workers' organizations representing them
oppose the legislation and the opposition parties have voted against
it. There's no consensus, it's unacceptable that all this has all been
dismissed. We continue to fight for our rights."
The general sentiment was that workers reject the control by private
interests of decision-making power over workers' health and
safety. In a discussion with an activist from the Party's Workers'
Centre, a prevention representative from the Port of Montreal
Longshoremen's Union explained that placing safety in the hands of
employers is a huge and unacceptable setback that puts workers' very
lives at risk.
Meanwhile,
on the eve of the bill's passage, Labour Minister Jean Boulet again
asserted that private interests must make the law. He said: "One of the
ways to ensure the effectiveness of prevention and participation
mechanisms is the possibility of implementing multi-establishment
programs. Indeed, the multi-establishment approach allows
employers to deploy the same prevention program in several locations
under their responsibility. This enables employers with more than one
establishment to be more efficient. The decision to use the
multi-establishment approach is left to the employer, as it is they who
are responsible and accountable for health and safety management in
their
establishments."
Workers reject such an irresponsible assertion and dictate and they
made it clear at the demonstration that they reject this law and that
the only response is to step up the defence of their right to safe and
healthy working conditions.
The Defence of Rights Is the Defence of Lives!
This article was published in
October 1, 2021 - No. 90
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08901.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
