Jack Layton pledges to fight for federal anti-scab legislation

NDP leader says party will 'stand up for working people' in Canada's post-election Parliament

James Clancy & Jack Layton

Vancouver - Jack Layton has promised to use his party's leverage in the next Parliament to pass anti-scab legislation.

“We will stand up for working people," the federal New Democratic Party leader said while campaigning in Vancouver for Canada's Jan. 23 federal election.

"We’ll fight for laws that put working people at the head of the line in front of the banks. We’ll work for pay equity and for fair wages. And we will try once again to bring in laws that get the so called replacement workers out of the picture in national legislation.”

Only Quebec and British Columbia currently have anti-scab laws that prevent employers whose workers are on strike from being replaced by anyone other than managers.

However, the same protection does not apply in those provinces to employees who work in industries under federal jurisdiction such as telecommunications or transportation.

Cites Telus strike

Layton accused Prime Minister Paul Martin of lacking leadership by failing to support an NDP bill that would have protected Telus workers, who were on strike mainly in B.C. and Alberta, fighting for their jobs.

The NDP leader’s pledge was made at a labour rally of about 300 people in downtown Vancouver.

A long list of labour leaders attended Layton’s rally including Ken Georgetti, head of the three-million-member Canadian Labour Congress, and Jim Sinclair, president of the B.C Federation of Labour.

James Clancy, president of the National Union of Public and General Employees, appeared with Layton at a campaign event last month in Ottawa where the NDP leader signed The Workers Bill of Rights.

Others at the Vancouver rally included Paul Moist, head of the Canadian Union of Public Employees; Ken Neumann, Canadian director of the United Steelworkers and Tom Dufresne, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse union and Bruce Bell, president of the Telecommunications Workers Union.

Layton said the NDP is the only party that is truly ready to stick up for working families.

“We’re going to stand up for our seniors with better long-term care and better homecare and some help with prescription drugs,” Layton said.

“We will stand up for our kids - with better child care, by taking on poverty, by giving students some help. We will defend public, non-profit health care and keep the profiteers out.” NUPGE