The Effect of Strike Replacement Legislation on Employment

Employers and employer groups often argue that restrictions on an employer's ability to use replacement workers during a strike reduce employment. This study analyzes the effect of Canadian provincial strike replacement legislation on employment using province-level aggregate data for 1966-94 and private sector, bargaining unit-level disaggregated data for 1966-93. Three types of strike replacement statutes are analyzed: strike replacement bans that prohibit both permanent and temporary replacements, reinstatement rights for strikers (effectively banning permanent replacements), and restrictions on the use of professional strikebreakers. A strike replacement ban that restricts the use of both permanent and temporary replacements is found to have negative employment consequences. The results for reinstatement rights provisions and professional strikebreaker bans are mixed