How this year of labour unrest could shape workers' rights in future — and the next federal election

Labour and business professors say the past year of worker unrest in Canada is a positive sign for the labour movement overall, and could also be a factor in the next federal election.

There were a number of major strikes in B.C. alone that upended life for many in 2023 — including the two-week port strike that some business groups estimate cost them billions of dollars; a three-month-long transit strike in the Fraser Valley; and ongoing strikes at Rogers Sugar and Vancouver hotels.

Labour professors say strikes across the country capitalized on a feeling of anger toward business executives who saw profits increase during the pandemic, and that unions are likely to benefit in the long run from the sustained attention.

In addition, they say the upcoming federal election — along with imminent federal and provincial legislation on replacement and gig workers, respectively — will likely be shaped by the widespread labour action.

Statistics Canada data shows that two million "person days" were lost to work stoppages this year, the highest number in more than a decade. Person days are defined as the number of working days lost to stoppages multiplied by the number of employees.

Fiona McQuarrie, professor emeritus at the University of the Fraser Valley's business school, says worker anger toward executives will not evaporate quickly in 2024 and beyond.

She points to the spiking cost of living as another reason for rising labour discontent, while, at the same time, some employers have sought to reduce costs after supply chain issues took a bite out of their bottom line.

"Coming out of the lockdowns related to the pandemic, both employers and employees had financial hits," said McQuarrie. 

"I get the sense that both sides, in some respects when they're going into new collective agreements, are trying to regain some of the financial ground that they lost during COVID."

Federal and provincial legislation

The cost-of-living crisis has sparked calls for major legislation to advance workers' rights, with one of the major ones being the newly introduced federal bill that would ban replacement workers in the event of a work stoppage.

John-Henry Harter, a lecturer in history and labour studies at Simon Fraser University, says the bill will likely be a net positive for workers and would help to shorten work stoppages in the years to come.

"It's just demonstrably true that if the employer can't bring in replacement workers, they're way more likely to get back to the bargaining table," he told CBC News. 

"It has a real positive effect for workers — and, for people who like to think abstractly, for the economy generally."

B.C. already has "anti-scab" legislation in place, and the province recently introduced legislation to provide minimum standards of employment for gig workers like Uber drivers.

But Harter was critical of that bill, saying it created a "second tier" of workers who are not entirely covered by the Employment Standards Act.

"No employer can go below the minimums established … [in] the Employment Standards Act," he said, adding some of those minimums include the right for workers to take breaks on the job and for employers to pay wages due if an employee quits.

"The legislation, as it stands, allows employers companies who hire gig workers to go below that. That's a huge problem and it's shocking."

A spokesperson for B.C.'s Ministry of Labour told CBC News in an email that the provincial gig workers' legislation would extend workers' compensation coverage to ride-hailing and food delivery workers.

Gig app companies would be responsible for registering with WorkSafeBC and reporting any injuries or accidents, according to the spokesperson.

However, Harter said in the long run the legislation might lead to workers in the sector unionizing, given that it acknowledges gig workers are employees.

The sector has previously been difficult to organize due to companies treating gig workers as independent contractors.

Voters' views

Despite the numerous work stoppages in 2023, union membership has largely stayed stable in Canada over the last two decades — with Statistics Canada finding 28.7 per cent of all Canadians were part of a union in their primary job last year.

But Harter said sectors previously resistant to unions, like chain cafés and restaurants, have seen a rise in organizing in 2023 — and the trend that could see an upsurge in unionization in general, even if that could take decades to bear fruit. 

In addition, both Harter and McQuarrie said the strikes will be on voters' minds before they head to the polls for the next federal election, which will take place in or before October 2025.

Harter says some voters are likely to have applauded Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party for not ordering striking port workers back to work.

He says the Liberals may try to appeal to a broad base by pointing to their dealings with that particular strike, as well as the federal workers' strike. At the same time, however, he added some voters may side with Conservative Leader Pierre Polievre's stance that port workers should have been ordered back to work.

McQuarrie says she is curious whether the federal NDP's confidence-and-supply agreement with the ruling Liberals will be held up as a reason to support the New Democrats again in the eyes of organized labour. 

"On one hand, there is probably a section of the voters that saw the disruption that major events like the port strike caused … they're still seeing the reverberations from that," the professor said. 

"But I think equally, there's also another section of the voters that would say that unions are one of the few organizations that have legal power to stand up and advocate for employees, and that we should be supporting that and encouraging that."