Five major unions representing more than a million workers are contesting Quebec's union law just a day after it went into effect, saying it infringes on workers' right to strike.

Law 14, adopted in the spring, allows the provincial government to intervene and force striking public transit workers into arbitration and provide minimum services for the "well-being" of the public.

In a joint statement published Monday, the unions say the law places too much power in the hands of the labour minister.

"From the outset, we warned that Law 14 would encourage employers to prolong negotiations while awaiting ministerial intervention, that it would exacerbate labour relations," the statement said.

The unions filed a lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court on Monday in an attempt to have the law struck

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