Bank of Canada Defies Rulings on Scab Workers Amid Ongoing Strike
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem is defending the central bank's actions amid two rulings against using scab workers during a security officers' strike. The Bank of Canada used contractors from Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations and Garda Canada Security Corporation, violating the Canada Labour Code. Macklem claims that the bank introduced 'alternative arrangements' that it believed satisfied the Code, but the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ruled against the bank for a second time.
The strike began in June after collective bargaining talks failed to produce a new agreement. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has been on strike for four weeks, with 42 members at the Bank of Canada's Ottawa office and seven in Montreal. PSAC has called on the bank to stop using replacement workers and return to bargaining.
CLC President Bea Bruske wrote to Macklem, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu, and Secretary of State for Labour John Zerucelli that the Bank of Canada's repeated disregard for the board's orders is unacceptable. She urged the bank to immediately comply with the board's orders and end its use of scab labour.