MONTREAL - Quebec's Construction Commission has launched multiple investigations into last week's wildcat strike by construction workers.
Members of the Quebec Federation of Labour and the Conseil provincial du Quebec des metiers de la construction did not work on Oct. 24 and 25, in what union managers were calling a spontaneous and unorganized work stoppage.
That walkout generated hundreds of calls to the CCQ both from employers, and from construction workers saying they were victims of intimidation.
Diane Lemieux, president of the CCQ, says intimidation, threats, and violence will no longer be tolerated.
"It's finished, it's done. We need to speak together, we need to find a solution together and this kind of behaviour is not acceptable," said Lemieux.
During the strike several dozen union members protested at CCQ offices and several windows were smashed.
As a result, the CCQ has levied fines ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 against four people, and unions have been slapped with fines of $7,000 to $80,000
Jean-Guy Gagnon, a special investigator for the CCQ, says more fines are possible.
"We want to protect the information and the identity of the people but the 80,000 is about mischief that we have at the headquarters to the ccq, and also for the hours that we lose because they weren't at that job at that time," said Gagnon.
The construction workers that went on strike were showing their displeasure with Bill 33, provincial legislation that would prevent unions from deciding how many employees could work on job sites, and would let employers pick qualified individuals from a roster created and maintained by the CCQ.
The legislation is opposed by the FTQ and the CPQMCI, but other construction unions in Quebec support the bill.
