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Public sector workers in Quebec may prefer the two years they worked without a contract to conditions they'll face under a bill recently passed by Quebec's National Assembly. Bill 142, in effect until 2010, takes negotiations out of the hands of 500,000 public sector workers in Quebec, barring negotiation of salary, insurance, or retirement plans and imposing a two-year salary freeze.

The anti-union bill also prohibits strikes and slow-downs, punishing those who take part with hefty fines plus the loss of two days' pay for every day of work stoppage. Under Bill 142, the government retains the ability to alter or throw out collective agreements to replace workers with scabs. Affected workers range from teachers to hospital workers and make 20 percent less than similar workers in the unionized private sector.

Go to labourstart.org and click on the "Public Sector Workers" headline in the "Act Now!" section to participate in the online campaign to reject Bill 142. You can also send letters to: The Honourable Jean Charest, Premier of Quebec, Edifice Honore-Mercier, 835, boul. Rene-Levesque Est, 3e Etage, Quebec, Canada G1A 1B4.

Expiration Date:
Thu, 06/01/2006 - 9:00pm