WHAT IS A SCAB? A scab is a replacement worker brought in by the company side during a labour dispute. A scab can also be a member of a union who chooses to cross a picket line. The term ‘scab’ became widespread in the 18th century to describe someone who behaved dishonourably. Other terms are strike breaker, black leg…
WHO ARE THE SCABS? Commonly, scabs are students, people visiting from other countries, management or people in non-union positions within the same company, or people in desperate financial situations.
WHAT ARE THE LAWS? In British Columbia, the use of replacement workers is prohibited by law. The federal labour code allows the use of scab labour; this law is in place to protect essential services, but rarely used and highly looked down upon. Unfortunately, the way the laws are written, if a business falls under the federal labour code, they are allowed to use replacement workers regardless if they are considered an essential service or not. Remember, just because it’s legal, it does not mean it’s ethical.
DON’T BE FOOLED! The company that is hiring you may not be completely honest with you, they might not tell you that there is a labour dispute at all, or they will make it seem that it’s nothing unusual to take a job as a scab. They may tell you that they can’t possibly meet the demands of the workers without sinking the company. They may tell you that the workers are greedy and that the union is to blame for the work disruption. They will try to make you feel like a hero, that because of you, the company can stay in business.
THE TRUTH! The truth is that you are NOT a hero. By talking a scab position you are hurting people. You are enabling a company to run without negotiating a fair contract with its employees and causing great pain and financial strife for those workers and their families. The truth is that you are NOT getting the whole story. The truth is that a union acts on behalf of it members. Democratic process takes place to ensure the needs of the membership are being met and members of the workforce are appointed to the bargaining committee. The truth is that the path of lockout is very expensive to companies. A common tactic is to hire expensive security staff to gather video evidence, manipulate it, and then spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawyers tying up provincial courts in the hopes of silencing the picketers and replacing them permanently with cheaper labour.
ASK YOURSELF: Do I want to be used by companies to hurt fellow workers and lower wage standards? If no, DON’T SCAB!
The use of Scab labour pits workers against workers in a time when we should be uniting.
