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### Viewing cable 03MONTREAL1747, CHAREST GOVERNMENT, QUEBEC LABOR UNIONS

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
03MONTREAL1747 | 2003-12-10 19:53 | 2011-04-28 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | Consulate Montreal

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MONTREAL 001747

    SIPDIS

    SECSTATE FOR WHA/CAN,

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PGOV CA
    SUBJECT:  CHAREST GOVERNMENT, QUEBEC LABOR UNIONS
    HEADED FOR SHOWDOWN

    REF:  QUEBEC 0210 (2002)

    ¶1. Summary:  Premier Charest's Liberal government and
    Quebec's powerful unions are headed for a showdown over
    proposed revisions to provincial labor laws on
    subcontracting and the health care system.  Both sides
    are playing for public support, though neither
    particularly successfully so far.  Unions have already
    mounted demonstrations, work stoppages and acts of
    vandalism; a province-wide Day of Disruption is
    scheduled for December 11.  The Liberals are trying to
    push four labor-related legislative actions through the
    National Assembly before Christmas.  At stake is
    whether organized labor in the province will be able to
    maintain its traditional and unique strength in the
    face of the government's desire to make Quebec more
    competitive with other Canadian provinces and more
    attractive to investors. Charest told CG Quebec that he
    is determined to stand up to the unions and will not
    bend under intimidation tactics. End Summary.

    Quebec's Unions
    ¶2. In 2002, Quebec for the third straight year was the
    most highly unionized state or province in North
    America with 40.7 percent of its workers collectivized
    as compared to 32 percent in Canada and 28 percent in
    Ontario and 15 percent in the U.S.  Public sector
    workers make up a large majority -- 82 percent -- of
    Quebec's 1,260,000 unionized workers.  The rate of
    unionized workers in the province's private sector is
    27.7 percent.

    ¶3. According to Julie Cusson, a researcher at the
    Conseil du Patronat (the province's top business
    group), when the Quebec Labor Code was first designed
    in 1964 its main goal was not to establish the rules of
    engagement between labor and employers but to
    facilitate unionization and put Quebec labor at the
    forefront of the battle for workers' rights. According
    to Cusson, Quebec is the only jurisdiction in Canada or
    the U.S. where workers wishing to form a union do not
    have to vote.  Union representatives only have to
    collect the signatures of 50 percent of a work unit's
    employees plus one in order to secure union
    accreditation.  In other provinces, a required secret
    vote takes place a week or two after union membership
    cards have been signed.

    ¶4. The largest union in the province is the Federation
    des Travailleurs du Quebec (FTQ) with 520,000 members
    or 42.5 percent of Quebec's unionized workers,
    including most of the construction workers.  The
    Confederation des Syndicates Nationaux (CSN), known for
    its extremism, accounts for 20.8 percent of Quebec
    union members, the Centrale des Syndicats du Quebec
    (CSQ) or teachers' union has 9.2 percent, and the
    Centrale des Syndicats democratiques, 3.9 percent.  A
    few independent unions, such as the independent nurses'
    union, the Federation des Infirmieres et Infirmiers du
    Quebec (FIIQ) (the main organizer of the marches
    against the war in Iraq last spring), as well as some
    independent government workers unions make up 23.1
    percent of the total work force.

    Proposed Changes
    ¶5. One of the most controversial items in Premier Jean
    Charest's so-called "re-engineering plan" for the
    province is his government's proposal to amend Article
    45 of the Quebec Labor Code.  Article 45 has come to be
    interpreted in such a way that employer subcontracting
    has been all but prohibitive in the province.  Under
    Article 45, courts have said that workers are entitled
    to keep their benefits and wages, when their work is
    subcontracted to another employer.  Guy Lemay a
    Montreal labor lawyer believes the proposed Bill 31
    revision of Article 45 would give Quebec businesses and
    governments the same sub-contracting flexibility
    available to companies in the other Canadian provinces.
    However, Opposition leader Bernard Landry echoed the
    labor line at National Assembly hearings on the bill,
    saying that the proposed revisions to Article 45 would
    transform $20 per hour jobs into $10 per hour jobs.

    ¶6. In the health care sector, the government has put
    forward two organizational measures with potentially
    deep labor impact.  Bill 25 would merge local clinics
    and long-term care centers under the authority of
    general hospitals with a single board of directors;
    regional health boards would be eliminated throughout
    the province.  Bill 30 would limit to five the number
    of categories of workers in a hospital, thus reducing
    the number of bargaining units in Quebec's health
    system from 3,671 to 1,961.  At present, in some Quebec
    hospitals, directors must negotiate with more than
    twenty bargaining units from janitors to x-ray
    technicians.

    ¶7. One other key Liberal piece of legislation, Bill 32,
    would raise the cost of government run-day care centers
    from $5 to $7 next fall.  Although daycare is only
    indirectly a labor issue, labor officials are using it
    to attract support from the general public in their
    plan for a province-wide "Day of Disruption" on
    December 11.  Government workers in schools, hospitals,
    daycare centers, public transportation and other public
    agencies are being called upon to demonstrate against
    the government on that day in their workplaces.

    ¶8. Union leaders have said that labor activism will
    increase after the Holiday season if the Charest
    government does not change course.  Charest told CG
    Quebec December 3 that he would not give in to union
    intimidation tactics - inter alia, demonstrators had
    trashed the offices of Minister Benoit Pelletier and of
    President of the National Assembly Michel Bissonet that
    week.  He said he was determined to proceed with
    Article 45 amendment and union consolidation on certain
    fronts.  According to several post contacts and news
    reports, Spring could mark the start of a series of
    major work stoppages and general strikes.  Many public
    sector union contracts ended last summer and are
    currently in the negotiation process.  By Spring,
    thousands of government workers will have been without
    a collective agreement for more than six months; if
    negotiations continue fruitless, strikes threats will
    become a reality.

    ¶9. According to a member of the FTQ policy bureau,
    labor groups fear that if the Charest government is
    successful on subcontracting and health system
    organization issues, it may be tempted to challenge
    other Quebec labor conditions that have not yet been
    debated publicly.  For instance, successive Ontario
    premiers have petitioned their Quebec counterparts to
    open Quebec construction sites to Ontario workers.  And
    Quebec employers have long said a secret ballot should
    be held before union accreditation is granted.

    Union Rhetoric and Action
    ¶10.  Unions have criticized Charest for planning the
    upcoming reform behind closed doors, and for moving too
    quickly, without enough stakeholder consultation.  The
    CSN insists the government's plans were drawn up in
    "secrecy" or with the help of the Conseil du Patronat.
    Post's FTQ contact complained Premier Charest has never
    consulted FTQ President Henri Mass on provincial
    reengineering.  An October 14 open letter by Charest,
    published in the province's major papers, particularly
    stung in its accusation that labor leaders were only
    concerned with protecting their "corporatist"
    interests.  Quebec business leaders, who have been
    supportive of Charest's proposed changes, point to a
    late November CROP survey that showed Quebecers were in
    favor of privatizing or subcontracting government
    services so as to reduce the size of the state. Labor
    meanwhile emphasizes that the same survey showed
    satisfaction with the Liberal government has dropped
    from 51 percent in September to 43 percent in November.

    ¶11.  The union actions of the past few months have not
    been very conclusive.  Montreal public transit workers
    were criticized by the media and commuting public for
    going on a one-week strike in mid-November even though
    full service was provided during extended rush hours.
    Even Labor's friends in the press and its allies in the
    Parti Quebecois have condemned union acts of vandalism
    and prevention of public events.  Among other staged
    events, Union activists 1) overtook and vandalized a
    children's hospital to prevent Premier Charest from
    making an announcement there; 2) vandalized the offices
    of several Members of the National Assembly; 3) broke
    furniture in a downtown Montreal hotel and prevented
    the Conseil du Patronat President from attending a
    conference; 4) beat up a TV crew; 5) spread liquid hog
    manure on the carpet of one city councilor's apartment
    building.

    ¶12. Not all of Quebec's unions rely on such strong-arm
    strategies, but the use of intimidation by Quebec
    unions  -- and near acquiescence to it by authorities -
    -  has been a feature of the labor scene here for many
    years.  In September, Montreal municipal workers used
    city vehicles to block traffic and bridges during rush
    hour while their new contract was being negotiated. The
    only repercussions were that the workers will have to
    pay for the gas used and will be docked pay for the
    hours they spent immobilizing thousands of Montrealers.
    Reportedly, criminal charges are almost never brought,
    though unions have caused thousands of dollars in
    property damage as well as human injury.

    ¶13.  COMMENT: Since the early 60s, strong labor unions
    have been a characteristic of Quebec's "distinct
    society."  The Liberal's attempt to reduce labor costs
    and privileges in the province will be the first and
    biggest test of the mandate for change Charest claimed
    in winning the election last April. End comment.

    ¶14.  This cable contains input from the Consulate in
    Quebec City.

    ALLEN

`