Two Conservative anti-union laws, Bills C-377 and C-525, are now history with the adoption of Bill C-4. “Both of these Conservative bills were an attack on working people,” said PSAC National President Robyn Benson. “Canada’s labour movement mobilized fierce opposition to these laws. This victory is thanks to the vocal solidarity of union members and our allies.”
The bill reverses changes that were made to the Canada Labour Code, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, the Public Service Labour Relations Act and the Income Tax Act.
Bill C-525 made it more difficult for workers in the federal sector to unionize. It also gave employers more opportunity to interfere in the process of establishing a union in the workplace.
Bill C-377 required unions to make public detailed financial information, unlike any other type of organization. Privacy commissioners called the bill a violation of privacy laws, while others described it as unconstitutional. While the law was in force, the Liberal government had waived the requirement for unions to file this information for 2016 and 2017.
A version of this article was also published on the PSAC website.
