President’s message: Respect workers’ bargaining rights

Earlier this week, the Alberta government passed legislation ordering striking members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association back to work and imposing a new collective agreement. This legislation, Bill 2, squashes the constitutional right to strike by invoking the notwithstanding clause.

Sound familiar? It should. It was only a few years ago that the Ontario’s government tried to use the notwithstanding clause to force education assistants, early childhood educators, and other education workers with CUPE back to work, also with an imposed new contract.

The move was publicly unpopular. Unions—including AMAPCEO—defiantly stood together in opposition to the bill and the government was forced to retreat. 

Back to work legislation is not a new development. Governments across Canada have a long history of declaring legal labour disruptions illegal for a specific group of workers. 

What is new over the past few years is this use of the notwithstanding clause.

Using the notwithstanding clause this way not only threatens workers’ right to strike, but also imposes the government’s proposed contract on the workers—in this case, one that 90% of striking Albertan workers rejected. 

The unchecked power to legislate the terms of a collective agreement completely removes the government’s incentive to bargain. Why bargain fairly when you can stonewall unions and then just fall back on a law that is intended to only be used in extreme and unusual circumstances?

And while it is Alberta teachers today, it was Ontario’s education workers in 2022—it could be public servants anywhere in Canada tomorrow. Trampling workers’ rights in one province sets a dangerous precedent for workers’ rights across the country. 

An injustice to one worker is an injustice to all. 

Just as we want fair wage increases and better benefits in our contracts, we stand with workers across the country when they make the same demands. 

Today, the Alberta Federation of Labour announced they are standing up to their provincial government by organizing toward a potential general strike. AMAPCEO stands in solidarity with Alberta’s workers and their actions in support of the rights and freedoms of workers across the country.