The Canada Industrial Relations Board has ruled that the Bank of Canada must stop using replacement workers to keep operating during the PSAC Local 71250 strike.

Forty-nine Bank of Canada security workers in Ottawa and Montreal have been on strike since June 23 after negotiations reached an impasse.

The Board recently discovered that the Bank unlawfully contracted Garda security workers to fill in in the meantime. The Bank has been ordered to stop the practice within 48 hours.

A release from PSAC says the ruling is a major victory for the striking security workers, and “sends a clear message to employers across the country, that workers’ legal right to strike cannot be undermined by bringing in replacement workers.”

The strike remains in place.