Quebec union to talk telework, collective right of refusal at upcoming convention

Delegates from the province's largest labour union will be asked to vote on whether telework should be regulated and whether employers and unions should be required to negotiate the terms and conditions.

These ideas are part of a Policy Declaration on the COVID-19 pandemic, which will be submitted to the 1,200 delegates attending the Quebec Federation of Labour (FTQ)'s 33rd convention, which will take place next week in Montreal.

The Declaration also mentions the principle that telework must be voluntary, reversible and that a right to disconnect outside working hours must be provided.

The Declaration also refers to compensating employees who cannot telework, using means such as offering them a four-day week.

The COVID Policy Statement also calls for adapting the anti-scab provisions to the telework context.

As written, the anti-scab provisions of the Quebec Labour Code prohibit the use of replacement workers "in the establishment" affected by a labour dispute. But what is "the establishment" when employees are teleworking?

COLLECTIVE RIGHT OF REFUSAL

As a lesson learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Declaration also asks the FTQ to demand a "collective right of refusal" when working conditions are no longer safe.

It recalled the lack of masks and personal protective equipment at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the problem of ventilation in schools.

The right to refuse is currently enshrined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It allows a worker to refuse to perform certain tasks, under certain terms and conditions, if he or she believes that the task is dangerous.

The COVID Declaration asks the FTQ to demand that a collective right of refusal be added, as well as an increase in the number of inspectors and a more rigorous application of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

GOVERNMENT POWERS

Many union members in the health sector have not recovered from the imposition of working conditions and the circumvention of clauses in their collective agreements during the pandemic.

Consequently, the COVID Declaration submitted to the delegates asked the FTQ to demand that the right of association be respected and to demand that the imposition of working conditions by decree be stopped.

It also asked the FTQ to demand changes to the Public Health Act, to "better control, by democratic means, the government's power in the event of a health crisis and hold it accountable."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 12, 2023.