UFCW 501 members win strikebreaking order from labour tribunal

Quebec City – July 11, 2019 – Striking UFCW Local 501 members at Les Systèmes Techno-Pompes and Les Systèmes Géothermiques Jean-Guy Samson have won a labour tribunal ruling preventing both companies from using strikebreakers during the ongoing dispute between the union and the company.

The union had filed a complaint with the Administrative Labour Tribunal (ALT) seeking a provisional and permanent order against the company’s use of strikebreakers – outside employees who temporarily replace permanent employees while they are on strike.

Upholding the UFCW complaint, the presiding judge, Bernard Marceau, ordered Les Systèmes Techno-Pompes and Les Systèmes Géothermiques Jean-Guy Samson to obey section 109.1 of the Labour Code and to stop using outside employees at all times. Judge Marceau also ordered both companies to allow two UFCW Local 501 Union Representatives to visit the company premises once a day for the duration of the strike.

Approximately forty UFCW 501 members went on strike on June 11 after their employers demonstrated bad faith during negotiations and refused to recognize the right to union representation for employees working as plumbers, refrigerator specialists, tinsmiths, warehousemen, and general assistants at the two companies.

UFCW Local 501 represents over 18,000 members at more than 410 companies across Eastern Quebec and the Maritimes. To learn more about UFCW 501, visit the Local Union’s website.