https://humanrights.ca/asbestos-strike-labour-rights-quebec
Were the workers justified in their protests and means to protest?
In the year 1949, there was more than 5000 asbestos miners that went on strike. This strike would prove to be one of the most violent protests in Canadian history. The workforce was angry with their paychecks and the conditions they were working in, and demanded change.
The strike ended up lasting 4 months, and there was violence used by both parties against each other. In my opinion, the workers were justified in their reasons for protest, which included wanting just $1 an hour, the security of a union, a pension plan, and some planning or action being taken against the dangers of silicosis being spread by the exposure to asbestos. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/asbestos-strike-feature/ I think these are some good reasons for protest, as everyone deserves to have some amount of job security and a pension plan is a very helpful thing to offer workers. They also have a right to be safe in the workplace where asbestos was causing many problems rampant throughout the workplace.
However,
I don’t believe the protest was very well thought out or dealt with by either party, with the protesters using explosives on train tracks, and police threatening the miners. Workers had beaten up company officials, and it ended with police throwing tear gas into the crowds and firing shots. This could have been dealt with better by the workers, and so overall I think their reasons for protesting were good but the way they went about it was not okay.
Leave a Reply