Manitoba unions, employers wrestling over whether replacement workers during strikes are OK

A new report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says using replacement workers prolongs strikes and gives an unfair advantage to employers in bargaining.

Manitoba unions are pushing for legislation against replacement workers.

A new report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says using replacement workers prolongs strikes and gives an unfair advantage to employers in bargaining.

Unions say they want new legislation introduced this session, and the province’s labour management review committee is looking into it.

Niall Harney, author of the report, said replacement workers have been used in 35 per cent of strikes since 2016.

“We also found that strikes involving replacement workers lasted twice as long as those without. So that’s 45 days, which was the average length of a strike involving replacement workers in Manitoba, compared to 23 days for strikes that didn’t involve replacement workers.”

The report also calls for a simplified certification process when it comes to forming unions, to cut down opportunities for employer intimidation.

However, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says banning replacement workers can hurt business owners in the private sector through factors beyond their control.

Brianna Solberg, the CFIB’s director of legislative affairs for the Prairies and Northern Canada, said this is what happened during the liquor strike this past summer.

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“Around 32 per cent of our members in retail and hospitality say that they were just weeks away from closure due to the strike, had it not ended when it ended. And I think the situation would have been a lot worse had there not been an opportunity for replacement workers to keep product flowing at the distribution centre,” she said.

“Although we believe in the right to collective bargaining, it has to be a balanced approach that doesn’t harm either employees or employers.”

— with files from Global’s Katherine Dornian

Video: Summer of strikes stretches into fall, potentially winter in Manitoba