4 ms·

In France the right to strike is in the Constitution, so you can't waive it with a contract. But I'm a bit baffled that not going to overtime is qualified as a

In France the right to strike is in the Constitution, so you can't waive it with a contract. But I'm a bit baffled that not going to overtime is qualified as a strike, they are doing their normal hours, they are not locking the jobsite, and the management has the opportunity to hire more people or call a temp agency, which I guess a vote for a strike would prevent. I'm not very familiar with the anglo striking procedures, here it's an individual choice, it's the other side of being a constitutional right.

gruez 4y ago
>In France the right to strike is in the Constitution, so you can't waive it with a contract. I'm not an expert in French law but that's definitely not how it works in common law. Free speech might be protected by the constitution, but you can still enter into contracts that limit that right (NDA or non-disparagement) and the courts will uphold it.
Xylakant 4y ago
In germany, the right to strike is in the constitution (GG, Art 9, (3) https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_9.html https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_9.html) and still, while a collective bargaining agreement is in place, strikes that aim at changing any aspect of that agreement are illegal - and the union/workers may be liable for damages. (Striking for aspects that are not part of the agreement in place would be legal). Collective bargaining agreements here are usually time limited or have termination clauses. I would be surprised if this was fundamentally different in France.
- nraynaud 4y ago
  "the right to strike is practiced within the legal framework that regulates it" would be a good translation of the article of the French Constitution. I didn't say anything goes.
  - Xylakant 4y ago
    You said „you can‘t waive it in a contract“, but that‘s also not the case here. The right is waived by entering a collective bargaining agreement, which could be treated differently. There are rights in the German labor law that can‘t be waived by a mere contract, but can be waived in a collective bargaining agreement. And while I‘m not versed in Canadian law, the article indicates that the point of contention here is that this has been ruled as a strike that is illegal because a collective bargaining agreement is in place and for the duration of that agreement, strikes are not permitted. As to why this is considered a strike, the article is a bit hazy. The contract seems to say that overtime is mandatory unless there’s sufficient volunteers. The union seems to have asked the employees to not work overtime - and that could be considered a strike. They‘re not performing their work duties as contractually required, which is sort of the definition of a strike. Setting aside the question of whether such a requirement to perform overtime work is legal or not, I can imagine some similar ruling in germany. Overtime can be contractually required here (within boundaries), and collectively calling for rejecting overtime could be considered a collective action. Details obviously matter, so blanket statements here are impossible.

gruez 4y ago

>In France the right to strike is in the Constitution, so you can't waive it with a contract. I'm not an expert in French law but that's definitely not how it works in common law. Free speech might be protected by the constitution, but you can still enter into contracts that limit that right (NDA or non-disparagement) and the courts will uphold it.

Xylakant 4y ago

In germany, the right to strike is in the constitution (GG, Art 9, (3) https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_9.html https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_9.html) and still, while a collective bargaining agreement is in place, strikes that aim at changing any aspect of that agreement are illegal - and the union/workers may be liable for damages. (Striking for aspects that are not part of the agreement in place would be legal). Collective bargaining agreements here are usually time limited or have termination clauses. I would be surprised if this was fundamentally different in France.

nraynaud 4y ago
"the right to strike is practiced within the legal framework that regulates it" would be a good translation of the article of the French Constitution. I didn't say anything goes.
- Xylakant 4y ago
  You said „you can‘t waive it in a contract“, but that‘s also not the case here. The right is waived by entering a collective bargaining agreement, which could be treated differently. There are rights in the German labor law that can‘t be waived by a mere contract, but can be waived in a collective bargaining agreement. And while I‘m not versed in Canadian law, the article indicates that the point of contention here is that this has been ruled as a strike that is illegal because a collective bargaining agreement is in place and for the duration of that agreement, strikes are not permitted. As to why this is considered a strike, the article is a bit hazy. The contract seems to say that overtime is mandatory unless there’s sufficient volunteers. The union seems to have asked the employees to not work overtime - and that could be considered a strike. They‘re not performing their work duties as contractually required, which is sort of the definition of a strike. Setting aside the question of whether such a requirement to perform overtime work is legal or not, I can imagine some similar ruling in germany. Overtime can be contractually required here (within boundaries), and collectively calling for rejecting overtime could be considered a collective action. Details obviously matter, so blanket statements here are impossible.