'Anti-scab' law could wreak havoc on telecom networks during strikes, industry warns

  • 📰 BNNBloomberg
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 44 sec. here
  • 6 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 35%
  • Publisher: 50%

Business News

Hardware,Health,Labour

The industry representing Canadian telecommunications carriers and manufacturers is warning that new “anti-scab” legislation could leave Canadians in the dark if a network goes down during a labour stoppage.

Sammy Hudes, The Canadian PressAravinda Galappatthige, managing director and institutional equity researcher at Canaccord Genuity, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the outlook of Canadian telcos.

But Eric Smith, senior vice-president of the Canadian Telecommunications Association, said the ban may unintentionally leave telecom companies in the lurch when their workers go on strike. While the board said it’s possible network outages could occur during a work stoppage, it attributed them to an “intervening event” such as a natural disaster, accident or “act of god,” rather than the strike or lockout itself.

“It should not be assumed that a previous CIRB decision would dictate a future CIRB decision,” said spokesman Hartley Witten in an emailed statement. The government legislation was a key element of the Liberals’ political pact with the New Democrats, and passed through the House of Commons with unanimous support.

Still, Groves said telecom companies are right to be concerned, saying the legislation “represents an incredible tightening.”

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 83. in ZA

South Africa South Africa Latest News, South Africa South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

‘Anti-scab’ law could wreak havoc on Canadian telecom networks during strikes, industry warnsBill C-58, which received royal assent last month, bans federally regulated workplaces from bringing in replacement workers during a legal strike
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »