Early Strike Views

The year was 1961. Government workers did not have the right to strike, nor did most of them even want it. The Civil Service Federation (CSF) continued to urge the government to provide collective bargaining for the public service, but without the right to strike. For its part, the National Defence Employees Association (NDEA) followed the company line that binding arbitration was the preferred option. According to the National Secretary-Treasurer Ken Green, NDEA members did not wish to "weaken our National Defence."

Not all civil servants were of the same mind. Late that year, the Canadian Postal Employees (CPE) withdrew their 10,500 members from the CSF. They wanted full bargaining under the Industrial Relations and Disputes Investigations Act including the right to strike. Despite the split, CSF and NDEA remained steadfast in their views. Green even went so far as to suggest that the CPE National President was into "silly publicity grabbing and tail-chasing."

Green asked the rhetorical question: "Would you voice approval of the members of this association taking strike action, for any reason, and thereby crippling the defence of this country, including you?" He went on to observe that "people who talk of the right to strike being vital are not prepared to say our members should seek or have the right to strike and the accompanying ability to wreck the defence of this country - and those in a potential target area will be the most emphatic in this denial."

Noble views for simpler times. The Cold War was hot; defence of country was sacrosanct. Workers were willing to sacrifice some of their rights for the good of their country. But good faith is a two way street. Would the government be willing to treat them fairly in return?