October 24, 2011

Quebec labour minister threatened over construction worker proposal

QUEBEC

A Quebec cabinet minister says she has received threats someone will “break both her legs” as she tries to change rules governing construction unions.

Labour Minister Lise Theriault told reporters about an anonymous phone call her office received on the weekend.

“I won't give up,” Theriault told reporters in one of her several media appearances earlier this week.

“Am I worried about my safety? Honestly, no. Threats and intimidation have the opposite effect for me: I will not give up. We will abolish union placement.”

She has beefed up her security in recent weeks, even before the anonymous call.

The government is trying to limit the power of unions to pick which workers get assigned to job sites. A new bill would allow contractors to choose their own workers.

But unionized workers are fighting back.

Crews marched off work sites across the province this morning, paralyzing projects across Quebec and threatening to stay away all week.

The workers insisted the illegal work stoppages were not organized by their leaders, an act which could have resulted in penalties. They said the walkouts in several Quebec cities were a spontaneous gesture from frustrated workers.

The Charest government got off to a rocky start with the province's powerful labour unions after it was elected in 2003 on a promise to pare down the size of the public service.

The era since then has been one of relative labour peace.

But Monday’s events may signal a return to stormier waters.

The day's events have already achieved one feat: they have knocked images related to the province's construction scandal off of all-news TV networks in the province, where talk of corruption had dominated discussion for weeks. Premier Jean Charest already began his attempt to turn the page on the issue over the weekend, during a Liberal party convention that began with him talking about a corruption inquiry and ended with him delivering a speech that focused on the economy.

Theriault’s several media appearances Monday seemed designed to accelerate the page-turning.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., 2011

Print | Comment