Labour Must Rally to Defeat Harper, Says National Union Lead

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Labour Must Rally to Defeat Harper, Says National Union Leader

[ http://thetyee.ca/News/2015/01/09/Labou ... ign=090115 ]

In a 2015 look-ahead interview, Hassan Yussuff speaks on tough challenges ahead for Canadian workers.

By Jeremy J. Nuttall, January 9, 2015 TheTyee.ca

The prospect of another Conservative government should worry the labour movement, says the president of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Hassan Yussuff, whose organization represents more than three million workers across Canada, made his comments in an interview with The Tyee focused on the year ahead.

Yussuff said the Conservatives have spent much of their time in power attacking the movement in "the most aggressive way we've seen in any government in a long time in this country," and said unions must work to recruit people to help defeat the current government in 2015.

"Back-to-work legislation is not something they even pause about when they decide to do it," he said, such as legislation imposed on Canada Post workers in 2011 during their contract dispute. "They've done it five or six times since they've been in government, and none of it was warranted."

Yussuff said the ability of workers to bargain with their employers is a fundamental right that the federal government has interfered with, despite a negotiating framework he said has been proven to be balanced and fair.

He also pointed to legislation such as Bill C-525, introduced by a Conservative MP, which unions have argued makes it harder for civil servants and workers in federally-regulated industries to form a union.

The legislation eliminates the "card check" system where workers sign cards indicating they want to be represented by a union. Under the old system in federally regulated industries, if 50 per cent plus one sign the card, workers can certify.

Under the new law, there will be a secret voting process along with the card signing. It also makes the threshold for a decertification vote lower at 40 per cent from the previous 50 per cent plus one model.

The bill was passed by the Senate before Christmas, despite flaws in the drafting of the legislation, which proponents say can be changed later.

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