The PM is in a tough spot. He does not want the defying of back to work legislation to become a precedent for current and future gov’t/union disputes. On the other hand it is not difficult to conclude, rightly or wrongly, this gov’t heavy handiness is targeting a predominantly female workforce.
He put himself and the government in the tough spot. The only outcome will be future wildcat strikes which is much, much worse. AC knew this strike was coming and did not done enough to rebook passengers making the chaos even more chaotic. The government and AC have lost the PR war.
I wonder if there's any way to acknowledge that the back to work order was issued too quickly. As others have pointed out - we've had weather disruptions that lasted longer. Inconvenience is the purpose of a strike. It's supposed to be a reminder of the value of workers.
Agree Much too quickly which is why I described it as “heavy handiness”
The main issue on which this strike is based is due to the fact that this was originally almost entirely a female occupation. Underpaid, undervalued and exploited. A reckoning is long overdue.
BINGO
But this was, very importantly, NOT legislation. Was just an order from the Minister, using a section of the Canadian Labour Code, to the Canada Industrial Relations Board to end the strike and order binding arbitration. The big issue is does the Minister even have that authority under that section
And they’ll lose at the SCOC which sided with the BCTF in 2016 over an imposed contract from 2005, setting a precedent nationwide. Freedom to collectively bargain is a right.
The government needs to stop offering this backstop to managers entirely. Why even bother negotiating if you know that the government will step in and break the main source of power for a union (i.e.: withholding labor)? The bad precedent was using S. 107 in the first place.
He is in a tough spot because he is carrying water for the CEOs trying to screw over these workers and, as has happened many times before in Canadian history, these workers are showing the integrity and courage to fight back regardless. He and his CEO friends will lose.
That was his choice to “carry water for the CEOs.