US embassy cable - 03MONTREAL1747

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MONTREAL 001747 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SECSTATE FOR WHA/CAN, 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, EIND, ETRD, PGOV, CA, Liberal Party 
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