This is an update to our previous blog post on the Proposed Amendments to the Canada Labour Code outlined in Bill C-58.
The House of Commons has passed Bill C-58 which outlines changes to the Canada Labour Code regarding the use of replacement workers during a strike and lockout. It also amends the process respecting activities which are to be maintained during a strike or lockout.
Coming into force
Bill C-58 was passed by the House of Commons on May 27, 2024. If passed by the Senate, the proposed amendments to the Canada Labour Code will come into force 12 months after the Bill receives Royal Assent. The second reading by the Senate was completed on June 6, 2024.
Impact of Bill C-58
If passed, the Bill would ban an employer or any individual acting on their behalf from replacing bargaining employees with the following persons during a strike or lockout:
- Any employee or any person who performs management functions or who is employed in a confidential capacity in matters related to industrial relations, if that employee or person is hired after the day on which notice to bargain collectively is given;
- Any contractor, other than a dependent contractor, or any employee of another employer;
- Any employee whose normal workplace is a workplace other than that at which the strike or lockout is taking place or who was transferred to the workplace at which the strike or lockout is taking place after the day on which notice to bargain collectively is given;
- Any volunteer, student or member of the public.
Exceptions will be made if there is an imminent or serious threat regarding a person, the employer's property or environmental damage that could affect the employer's property. An exception will also be made where these persons were performing the same or similar duties to those employees in the bargaining unit before the day the notice to bargain was given.
The Bill also requires an employer and union to enter into an agreement regarding what activities will be maintained during a strike or lockout no later than 15 days after the notice to bargain collectively has been given. If the employer and the union do not enter into an agreement, either party can apply to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (the "Board") to make a decision regarding the maintenance of activities. The Board must communicate its decision within 82 days of receiving the application.
Federally regulated employers should begin considering what implications these proposed legislative amendments will have on labour disputes and collective bargaining within their sector.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.