Ontario Teachers Back-To-Work Legislation On Its Way

TORONTO - It will be several days before 70,000 Ontario high school students can return to class after the New Democrats delayed Monday the passage of new legislation that would force striking teachers back to work.

The Liberal government tabled back-to-work legislation after an arm of the Ontario Labour Relations Board advised the province that the school year was in jeopardy for students in three boards where teachers have been on strike for up to five weeks.

Quebec Construction Strike: Government Plans To Introduce Back To Work Legislation

QUEBEC - The Quebec government is planning to introduce back-to-work legislation to bring an end to the province's construction strike.

Labour Minister Agnes Maltais says the Parti Quebecois government will reconvene the provincial legislature from its summer break for a special meeting on Sunday.

Alberta Labour Relations Board orders all public service employees back to work

The Alberta Labour Relations Board has ordered all public service employees back to work after a judge found the AUPE in contempt of court for a wildcat strike that spread to the province's courts on Monday.

The dual announcements came late Monday.

Alberta Associate Chief Justice J.D. Rooke found the union in contempt of court and made his ruling public shortly after 10 p.m.

School strikes aren’t the apocalypse, but beware the Tory horsemen

Teachers’ strikes are coming soon to a school near you.

Parents are rattled and opposition politicians are decrying the government’s supposed paralysis.

But the panic is misplaced. And Tory demands for an urgent strike ban are premature (but presage tougher tactics if they win power).

The CP Rail strike and Harper’s pre-emptive war on labour

In ordering an end to the nationwide rail strike by Canadian Pacific workers, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives appear to be following a long-standing tradition.

Canadian governments, whether Liberal or Conservative, have never let railway strikes drag on. Back-to-work legislation has been imposed on striking rail workers at least seven times since 1950.

What is dramatically new about this particular majority government, however, is the break-neck speed with which it acts. It legislates an end to strikes immediately after — and in some cases before — they begin.

It has introduced the concept of pre-emptive warfare to labour negotiations.

Scrums: Hi ho, hi ho

“We want to help Canadians get back to work as quickly as possible,” human resources minister Diane Finley told the House of Commons Monday afternoon.

This is the message the government pressed upon the public on the first day back from the Victoria Day break week. This was the message delivered a few minutes before question period by five separate ministers, who stood at the lectern and dourly informed Canadians that the trains must get going and the striking CP Rail workers have to get back to work. The wheels have to start turning. Things must run on time. Jobs must be created.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird noted the reason for it all. Standing in for the prime minister in question period, he told the House the government’s planned changes to the structure of the nation’s employment insurance program is an “important part of our jobs and growth agenda.”

CP Rail: Back-to-work laws end strikes, but don’t bring labour peace

Federal back-to-work legislation is becoming routine, but while it may end strikes, it doesn’t always buy labour peace.

Along with short-term gains, such as Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. railcars loaded with everything from grain to lumber rolling again, thanks to legislation introduced Monday by Labour Minister Lisa Raitt, it often leaves long-term pain.

“You’re mortgaging the future, and not knowing how much that mortgage is going to cost,” said George Smith, who teaches labour relations at Queen’s University. “In spite of the appearance of labour peace, there is no such thing.”

Last Wednesday, 4,800 CP workers walked off the job, abruptly ending freight train service across the country. Monday’s back-to-work legislation, the Restoring Rail Service Act, orders them back on the job immediately.

CP Rail union, Tories battle over collective bargaining

The federal Conservatives defended their plan to force striking Canadian Pacific Railway employees back to work as a way to keep the economy on track, while the union representing 4,800 workers said their collective bargaining rights are under attack.

Labour Minister Lisa Raitt, flanked by four other cabinet ministers, on Monday made her case based on a need to keep the trains running so other businesses can keep their products moving.

Industry Minister Christian Paradis argued there's between $30 to $50 million a day in lost productivity and expenses because of the work stoppage.

Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation

Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is poised to introduce back-to-work legislation today after negotiations between Canadian Pacific Railway and the union representing 4,800 striking locomotive engineers and conductors broke off Sunday.

Both sides in the strike that began last Wednesday rejected a proposal made by the government-appointed arbitrator, according to Raitt, who told CBC News she was "disappointed."

Raitt will be providing an update to the media this afternoon at 1:45 p.m. ET and will be joined by Transport Minister Denis Lebel, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, Industry Minister Christian Paradis and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.

Ottawa under the gun to end CP strike

As the economic impact of the strike against Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP-T77.17-0.08-0.10%) mounts, industries across the country are urging the federal government to intervene when Parliament resumes Monday.

More than $50-million of grain is stuck in elevators and thousands of new cars and trucks are effectively stranded, awaiting CP to get the trains rolling. Manufacturers and miners are sounding the alarm about disruptions to the supply chain while the propane industry is worried about bottlenecks.

Supply chain pressures for both imports and exports are becoming severe, Port Metro Vancouver said Sunday. The port is part of a growing chorus of industry groups and companies urging Ottawa to introduce back-to-work legislation as the CP strike by 4,800 members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference enters its sixth day on Monday.

CP, union talks break off leaving stage clear for back-to-work legislation

OTTAWA - Canadian Pacific says negotiations with its striking employees have stalled.

The railway company says that the mediator withdrew Sunday afternoon leaving the door open for the government to table legislation to end the five-day old strike.

Earlier, Labour Minister Lisa Raitt had said she was still hopeful the two parties could show progress, but that she would not wait long.

Raitt warned last week that the government is prepared to introduce back-to-work legislation as early as Monday if CP and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference — which represents workers at CP as well as employees at Canadian National Railway (TSX:CN) can't reach a deal.

Raitt signalled her intention to introduce back to work legislation last week and is now in position to table it on Monday, when the House resumes from a week's recess.

About 4,800 unionized CP workers walked off the job Wednesday, halting the company's freight train service across the country.

Original Article
Source: winnipeg free press
Author: The Canadian Press 

Talks between CP, union stall; Raitt prepared to step in

Talks between Canadian Pacific Railway and the union representing its 4,800 striking workers broke off Sunday, paving the way for the federal government to introduce back-to-work legislation when MPs return to Ottawa on Monday.

"Talks between #CPRail & @TeamstersCanada derailed; back-to-work legislation expected Monday #cdnpoli," CTV's Richard Madan tweeted late Sunday afternoon.

CP said the mediator working to bring the two sides to a deal walked away from the talks Sunday afternoon.

The news came hours after Labour Minister Lisa Raitt expressed hope the two sides would come to a resolution, but indicated the federal government was prepared to step in if the ongoing labour dispute appeared to threaten the economy.

Tories prep back-to-work law for Canadian Pacific Railway

Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt says she's giving notice of legislation to send Canadian Pacific Railway's striking workers back to work after engineers and other workers walked off the job this morning.

Raitt urged Canadian Pacific Railway and its striking workers to keep negotiating but said she's being prudent by putting the legislation on the order paper in the House of Commons. The announcement came 10 hours after the workers went on strike.

"We want to make sure that they're doing the best that they can, but they understand as well that if they cannot conclude their deal, we will have the ability to intervene," Raitt told reporters in Ottawa.

"We want to make sure that the effect on the economy is being brought to people's attention and that we're keeping it in mind as it proceeds."

Air Canada ground crew launch legal challenge to back-to-work legislation

The union representing Air Canada (AC.B-T0.93-0.01-1.06%)’s ground crew is mounting a legal challenge to Ottawa’s back-to-work legislation.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers had planned to strike on March 12, but federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt thwarted the job action and then, as a precautionary measure, the government passed back-to-work legislation in mid-March.

Even so, hundreds of IAMAW members staged a 14-hour wildcat strike, disrupting an estimated one-third of Air Canada’s flights on March 23.

Dave Ritchie, the union’s Canadian general vice-president, said in a statement Monday that the Conservative government is denying his members the right to strike while sending the dispute to arbitration. “The government did not allow the free collective bargaining process to run its course,” he said.

Ms. Raitt referred Air Canada’s dispute with the IAMAW and a fight with its pilots to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, effectively making it illegal to have any strike or lockout.

B.C. Teacher Strike: Back-To-Work Bill Coming As Educators Weigh Options

VICTORIA - B.C. politicians voted Thursday to put an end to the government's longrunning contract dispute with the province's teachers, which has seen educators scaling back their work for months and culminated in a full-scale walkout last week.

The Liberal-dominated legislature voted 43-31 to pass Bill 22, which bans further walkouts, forces teachers to resume their normal duties, imposes a six-month "cooling-off" period, and then sends the contract dispute to mediation.

The controversial back-to-work legislation may put an end to the teachers' ongoing strike action, but it will only inflame the province's poor relationship with its teachers, which has seen the government step in to end nearly every set of contract negotiations in the past two decades.

The legislation has been panned by the teachers' union and other labour groups as an attack on workers' rights, with the teachers considering withdrawing volunteer work such as supervising extracurricular activities even after the back-to-work legislation is passed.

Airline workers lose rights: Rae

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae says the federal government violated the constitutional rights of airline workers to strike when it legislated them back to work in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Rae said the Conservative government - which overwhelmingly supported the bill to keep Air Canada's planes in the air - is treating the company as an essential service and, as such, should offer employees a fair alternative to striking, similar to what police and firefighters enjoy.

Legislation to prevent a work stoppage at Canada's largest airline passed in the House of Commons after a rowdy marathon debate that began Tuesday evening and ended about 1: 30 a.m. Wednesday.

Bill C-33, which passed by a vote of 155-124, addresses some 8,600 mechanics, baggage handlers and other ground crew, along with about 3,000 pilots, and now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to be receive royal assent later this week.

The House Speaker repeatedly was forced to tell MPs, who had been up all night, to quiet down during the raucous debate.

Air Canada Back-To-Work Bill To Send Airline, Unions Into Arbitration

OTTAWA - Federal politicians worked late into the night to debate a back-to-work bill to send a pair of Air Canada labour disputes to binding arbitration in order to keep the airline flying.

Bill C-33, which passed 155-124 at about 1:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, covers about 8,600 mechanics, baggage handlers and other ground crew at Air Canada and about 3,000 pilots.

Labour Minister Lisa Raitt had proposed the back-to-work legislation on Monday, saying a work stoppage at Air Canada was something the country could not afford. The government had invoked closure on Tuesday afternoon, setting up the final vote in the House of Commons.

But the union representing the mechanics and other workers said Tuesday that the decision to impose arbitration on its talks with the airline eroded labour rights.

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers executive Dave Ritchie said the bill would ”poison labour relations across Canada.”

Air Canada union slams Ottawa's intervention

Air Canada's largest employee union says the federal government's introduction of back-to-work legislation in advance of any work stoppage is an attack on workers' rights.

"The rights and wages of our members at Air Canada are being attacked by the federal government," Dave Ritchie, head of the Canadian branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said.

The proposed legislation, if passed, would force an end to any labour disruption at Canada's largest airline. The 8,600-member machinists union has had a mandate to strike since Monday, and last week, the airline said it would lock out its 3,000 pilots at the same deadline.

But both job actions have been delayed indefinitely as Ottawa moved quickly to block any potential work disruption during the busy March break travel season. Citing undue harm that a shutdown would have on the economy, Labour Minister Lisa Raitt announced the proposed legislation on Monday.

The Commons: Two wrongs make a farce

The Scene. Nycole Turmel wanted to talk about the apparently impending confession of Pierre Poutine. Pierre Poilievre wanted to talk about what the Liberals had done wrong in Guelph. Ms. Turmel wanted to propose a public inquiry. Mr. Poilievre wanted to talk about what the Liberals had done wrong in Guelph.

Switching to English, Ms. Turmel presented an itemized list of grievances.

“Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board said he wants to change the culture of Ottawa,” he noted. “Changing the culture, like replacing Liberal scandals with Conservative scandals? A culture where people can rig elections? A culture where the Prime Minister does not answer questions? A culture with no accountability, no transparency? A culture of denial and partisan attacks? If the Prime Minister wanted to change the culture, he must take responsibility. Will he?”

Bill stops Air Canada pilots from striking during bargaining

OTTAWA—Labour Minister Lisa Raitt introduced legislation suspending the right of Air Canada pilots and baggage handlers to strike during the current round of collective bargaining at the airline.

The far-reaching bill would also bar the airline from locking out employees until Air Canada and its unions reach a new collective agreement.

Citing concerns about the economy and families travelling for March break, Raitt moved last Thursday to head off a possible work stoppage this week. She referred the labour dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), a move that ties the hands of labour and management until the board reports on the health and safety issues at stake.

But on Monday she took steps to guarantee there would not be a work stoppage at Air Canada regardless of when or what the CIRB reports.

“Our government will take further action to protect the travelling public, the Canadian economy and the public interest by introducing legislation to sustain air services,” she told reporters.