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Report finds Siemens illegally using replacement workers
TROIS-RIVIÈRES, Quebec, May 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After locking out 105 workers at its facility in Trois-Rivières on April 15, Siemens Energy is adding insult to injury by illegally using replacement workers, or “scabs” in common language, to do their jobs. The company’s use of replacement workers has been revealed in a report by investigators from Quebec’s Ministry of Labour.
The Syndicat des Métallos/United Steelworkers union is now requesting a hearing before the Administrative Labour Tribunal to halt this illegal work and to compel the employer to stop using replacement workers, which violates Quebec’s Labour Code.
“Siemens Energy is behaving like a bully. Not only has it locked out its employees to save on wages during the expansion work on its plant, it also is using replacement workers to perform the unionized employees’ tasks, which is illegal,” says Luc Laberge, a Steelworkers union representative.
The Labour Ministry’s report cites more than a dozen people who reportedly performed tasks normally assigned to union members, in violation of the Labour Code. Quebec law stipulates that during a lockout or strike, only managers hired before the bargaining period may perform tasks normally assigned to the union members involved in the dispute.
Michaël Proulx, President of Steelworkers Local 8396, which represents the locked-out workers, accompanied two Labour Ministry investigators during a visit of the Siemens plant on April 28. Proulx observed that unauthorized individuals were performing work that should normally have been carried out by union members.
“It was our members who were supposed to move the machinery as part of expansion work that was already planned. It is illegal in Quebec to have our tasks performed by other workers. This confirms their disregard for Quebec laws, as well as their disregard for workers,” Proulx said.
The Syndicat des Métallos/United Steelworkers (USW), affiliated with the Quebec Federation of Labour, is the largest private-sector union in Quebec, representing more than 60,000 workers across all economic sectors.
Contact: Clairandrée Cauchy, USW Communications, 514-774-4001, ccauchy@metallos.ca
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