Strikes and lockouts in Quebec: what changes for workers, users and customers
A strike suspends neither your lease, nor your pay, nor the deadlines that concern you. What changes depends on your position.
A strike suspends neither your lease, nor your pay, nor the deadlines that concern you. What changes depends on your position.
Two words, two situations
A strike is a work stoppage decided by workers; a lockout is a closure decided by the employer to force a negotiation. Both are framed by the Labour Code: negotiation steps, a vote, a delay before exercising pressure, and an obligation to maintain essential services in public services.
If you are the worker
The employment link is suspended, not broken: ask your union about rights, insurance and return to work. Employer conduct such as replacing strikers to do their work, or threatening or sanctioning participation, can be the subject of a complaint.
If you are a service user
Essential services must be maintained (emergency, care required by health condition, basic services). A non-urgent appointment may be postponed and you must be notified. Your own deadlines do not automatically extend because of a labour dispute: a written extension request is more useful than a late contestation.
If you are a customer
A service paid for and not delivered because of a labour dispute is a contractual question: the business remains bound by its contract, and a delay caused by a dispute it triggered is generally treated as its own doing. Ask in writing for performance or a refund, citing the contract.