Legal strike or lockout position

A buyer of a unionized business meets the term when asking whether a work stoppage could come soon. Neither statute makes a stoppage lawful at any moment. Questions about due diligence are in What due diligence applies to a unionized workplace in a business sale?.

Canada Labour Code

Section 89(1) says no employer may declare or cause a lockout and no trade union may declare or authorize a strike unless several things have happened, including notice to bargain, a failure to bargain in time or to agree after bargaining, the Minister receiving a notice of dispute or acting on their own, a waiting period after the Minister’s notice or report, and the Board having determined any referral under s. 87.4(5). Sections 87.2 and 87.3, on notice and a strike vote, must also be complied with. Section 88.1 prohibits strikes and lockouts during the term of a collective agreement unless notice to bargain has been given and s. 89(1) is met. For the earlier step, see conciliation.

Ontario

Under s. 79(1) of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, where a collective agreement is in operation, no employee bound by it may strike and no employer bound by it may lock out. Where none is in operation, s. 79(2) requires that the Minister has appointed a conciliation officer or mediator and that set periods have elapsed, and s. 79(3) and (4) require a strike vote, subject to the exceptions in s. 79(5), which include employees in the construction industry. Other provinces are not covered here.