Smoke rises from U.S. bombs dropped on Haiphong THE IMPORTANCE OF SOLIDARITY The presidents of Quebec's three labour federations were finally released from jail on 23rd May, two weeks after their imprisonment touched off a massive strike wave throughout the province.
The dispute originated in the spring when the contracts of 210,000 provincial public empl oyees came up for renewal. This included teachers, maintenance workers, liquor board employees, hydro (electricity) workers, civil servants, hospital workers and nurses. To strengthen their bargaining power against their common employer, the Quebec government, they formed a Common Front of Quebec's three main union federations: the CSN, the FTQ, and the CEQ (teachers union). After weeks of obstructive actions by the Liberal government, the Common Front called for a general strike in the public sector (the 210,000 workers). The strike was in support of a $100 a week minimum salary for all public employees, the reduction of salary disparities between men and women and between regions, and an improvement in working conditions and job security. The government responded to the six day strike with injurctions to end the walkouts Fourteen union local leaders were jailed for up to six months and their unions fined up to $50.000 each. The strike went on The government then passed Bill 19 to end the strike under the threat of heavy penalties (up to $250 per day per worker and $50, 000 per day per union) and to impose a settlement by June 30th. It also took away the right to strike in the public sector for two years. The unions refused to negotiate under these conditions and the public empl oyees voted 60% in favour of contined strike action, in defiance of Bill 19. The three leaders of Quebec's major unions; Louis Laberge (FTQ), Marcel Pepin (CSN), and Yvon Charbonneau (CEQ) were arrested for recommending defiance of government injunctions. They were charged with contempt of court and given the maximum one year jail sentence. They refused to appeal and were taken off to prison.
The reaction to the repression was swift, and unexpected by the government, as is shown by the following (selected) summary of events taken from a bulletin put out by Solidaire. May 9th: Longshoremen, teachers, maintenance workers and hospital workers walk out in various parts of Quebec as the three union leaders turn themselves in.
May 10th: 50,000 (80 per cent) Quebec construction workers and hospital workers walk off paralysing construction throughout the province. Sept-Iles, a mining town, is taken over by the workers. Mines and the port are closed and highways are barricaded, non-essential businesses and all bars are closed. Food stores are warned not to raise prices. In St. Jerome the radio station is seized to broadcast workers' news and music. Further walk-outs take place all over the province.
May lith: Hospitals and schools continue to close down across Quebec. Two provincial Ministers announce that they will resign at the end of the crisis. At Thetford Mines workers from both private and public sector occupy the town and the local radio station. At Laurentides, 1300 workers at Hydro-Quebee (the province-owned electric power company) walk off, and the hospital and radio station are occupied. Workers control Labrador City. In St. Jerome, an estimed 25,000 workers close down 23 factories, schools, hospitals, construction sites and public services. Three main bridges into Montreal are blocked for several hours by workers. Mine workers strike all over the province. May 12th: St. Jerome, St. Hyacinthe, Joliette, Murdochville, Sept-Iles, Hauterive, Thetford Mines, Levis and Baie Comsau are all occupied by workers. In Sainte Therese, 2200 workers close down their General Motors assembly plant. In Montreal all the newspapers are forced to close, workers in both public and private sectors continue to walk out, at the Albert Prevost Hospital workers expel administrators and continue hospital operations themselves.
May 13th: Eighteen radio and TV stations have now been occupied or 'visited'. In Quebec City, 80 per cent of all teachers are out. In Montreal, the Palais de Justice (pro vincial courts) is closed down by civil employees and 2000 friends.
May 14th: 95 per cent of all construction workers are now out. The only people repor tedly working on the North Shore (of Montreal) are the police.
May 15th: In Montreal, as blue collar workers vote to remain on strike indefinitely and private contractors are prevented from picking up garbage, a Common Front of local committees, citizens and women's groups, tenants unions, food co-ops and medical clinics is organised to protest Bill 19 and government repression. May 16th: 5500 hospital workers at Il hospitals remain on strike. Thirty four local hospital union leaders out on bail turn themselves in. In Levis, 13 people are arrested while occupy: ing a radio station. On the North Shore, 550 hydro workers walk out in defiance of a union decision not to strike. In Quebec City, the port is paralysed as 2000 dockers and 650 elevator operators walk out. In Montreal, 1300 Canadair employees walk out though bus and metro drivers vote against strike action. Striking workers at A & P bakery department throw products into the street before police arrive.
On May 17th, the Common Front called for a truce period and temporary end to the strike after the government promised to release the union leaders and to negotiate a new contract with the public employees rather than impose terms under the strike-breaking law passed in April. This virtually marked the end of the strike wave in the province. One reason for the 'truce was undoubtedly the need to fight a move to split the CSN - three of the five members on the confederation's executive board have announced plans for a rival nonpolitical' union.
While the Quebec strike wave was undoubted ly & major step forward for workers' struggles in Quebec, nevertheless it also showed up very clearly the major weaknesses from which the movement still suffers. The most obvious feature of the strikes was their complete spontaneity and the complete failure of the unions to provide any coherent leadership. That so many workers in the private sector struck in solidarity with the public sector is extremely encouraging, yet the fact remains that there was no organisation of the myriad spontaneous actions which occurred, and no attempt to develop a strategy for going beyond the immediate goals (repeal of Bill 19, release of Union leaders, just negotiations). After walking out the workers were left totally unclear about where to direct their anger and frustration at the government and the economic situation. But, as the threatened CSN split shows, the strike wave has at least opened up an extremely important debate on the relation of trade unionism and politics, a debate in which the contradictions and limitations of the present unions and union bureaucracy will become more and more evident.