Commentary

Workers Facing Increased Attacks

Workers in Canada are facing increasing attacks by governments and employers striving to maximize the profits of the capitalists. In British Columbia the provincial Liberal government is aggressively pursuing neo-liberal policies of privatization of the health care system. While the recent strike by hospital workers in that province has slowed the rate at which their work is contracted out to private corporations, the provincial government has made it clear that it will not be diverted from its privatization agenda. Further attacks on B.C. public sector workers over the next several months appear inevitable now that the government has, at least temporarily, averted the threat of a general strike over the imposition of draconian back-to-work legislation. This legislation rolled back hospital workers' wages by 15 percent and lengthened their work week.

Public sector workers in Newfoundland were also hit with back-to-work legislation that imposed a wage freeze and permitted the government to lay off 4,000 employees, a quarter of the provincial government's workforce.

The strike by workers at CN Rail had been over for only a matter of days before CN president and CEO Hunter Harrison announced that the company would be laying off 500 to 700 workers over the next 18 months. It was clear from Harrison's remarks that the layoffs are a punitive measure to teach railway workers that resistance to the Americanization of CN Rail is futile. The first of these layoffs have now been announced, with a cut of 150 workers from the Winnipeg Customer Service Centre. This cuts the staff in the department in half.

In Quebec during the past several weeks, tens of thousands of workers have participated in actions aimed at protesting the neo-liberal policies of that province's provincial government, which, like the B.C. government, is attempting to privatize large sections of the public sector, especially health care. The Charest Liberals recently announced layoffs of thousands of public sector workers.

Meanwhile, workers at both Stelco and Air Canada are fighting against attempts by their employers to rob their pension funds.

As the attacks on their wages, working conditions and jobs continue to escalate, workers have no option but to step up the tempo and intensity of their own resistance. A climate is being created in which large-scale strikes and other forms of struggle by workers are inevitable. Workers must take measures to strengthen their unity and their fighting capacity in preparation for these struggles.