Rogers actions spur NDP to amend anti-scab legislation

Actions taken by Rogers Communications Inc. during a strike in Abbotsford, B.C., have led the New Democratic Party to introduce amendments to anti-scab legislation to close what the party maintains is a loophole in the law. Parliamentary leader Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, B.C.) appeared at a news conference Monday with party leader Avi Lewis, United Steelworkers (USW) national director Marty Warren and USW local 1944 president Michael Phillips. Davies tabled his private member’s bill Monday afternoon. Local 1944 called a strike against Rogers in Abbotsford in June last year, seeking wage parity with other technicians working for the Toronto telecom. When the 25 technicians walked off the job, Rogers brought in managers from other parts of the country to do the work of the striking employees. The move did not violate the provisions of the anti-scab law passed during the government of Justin Trudeau. Davies defended the original bill but said the Rogers stance showed the law’s deficiencies. “This was a major step forward to ensure fairness in collective bargaining and to protect workers’ rights,” he told the press. “But that protection is being violated in practice.” “When employers are able to bring in managers from other locations to perform the work of striking or locked-out employees, it distorts the balance of power at the bargaining table and it undermines the very purpose of anti-scab laws.” Lewis reminded reporters that the labour movement has had a long fight to gain its rights. “The right to strike is not a gift that was handed down from above. It was won through struggle and sacrifice,” he pointed out. “This fight is ultimately bigger than any one labour dispute. It’s about whether or not the right to strike remains a reality in Canada.” Warren urged adoption of the amending legislation. “Parliament should be strengthening labour rights, not weakening them,” he stated. “The recent Rogers labour dispute in Abbotsford, B.C., involving USW local 1944 was the first major test of the anti-scab legislation.” Phillips said it was disheartening to see bosses working for the duration of the walkout. “Every day for four and half months these strikers watched as out of town managers crossed their picket line, shamefully, and performed their union work. And performed it badly, I might add,” he asserted. Davies said when negotiations began in the previous Parliament between the NDP and Liberals for anti-scab laws, the government wanted to restrict the implementation to lockouts. That was a deal breaker for the New Democrats, who got strikes included. They did not anticipate the loophole that Rogers used. “I can only assume that the LIberals deliberately wrote the law in such a way that they provided this loophole to their corporate friends so they’d have a way out,” the MP said. In response to a question from The Wire Report, Phillips said all is not well in Abbotsford, despite the strike being settled in October. “Morale is very low,” he reported. “Any time you have scabs crossing picket lines day after day for months at a time that really tears apart a workplace environment.” Five strikers have been disciplined for their actions on the picket line, the local president noted. He said they wanted to come to Ottawa to endorse the legislation but worried about retaliation from Rogers. Davies called on all MPs who claim to support worker rights and the rights of unions to vote for his bill. ppark@thewirereport.ca

Rogers actions spur NDP to amend anti-scab legislation

Regulatory |
By Paul Park
|June 9, 2026

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Rogers actions spur NDP to amend anti-scab legislation

Regulatory | By Paul Park |June 9, 2026

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