Supreme Court Ruling Affirms Labour Rights Are Human Rights
Jun 13, 2007
’This landmark decision recognizes that collective bargaining is a right for all workers, and it affirms that labour rights are human rights.’ - NUPGE President James Clancy
Ottawa (8 June 2007) - The Supreme Court of Canada has declared for the first time that the collective bargaining rights of workers are protected by the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms and are also a fundamental aspect of Canadian society predating the Charter.
The 6-1 ruling arises from a 2002 case in which the Liberal government of British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell arbitrarily cancelled the contracts of thousands of health care workers and allowed for mass layoffs outside the collective bargaining process.
The top court ruled that several sections of the B.C. legislation (Bill 29) violated Section 2 of the Charter, which protects freedom of association. The court also rejected earlier Supreme Court decisions that excluded collective bargaining from the Charter’s protection saying those decisions do not withstand principled scrutiny.
"We conclude that Section 2(d) of the Charter protects the capacity of members of labour unions to engage, in association, in collective bargaining on fundamental workplace issues," Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and Justice Louis LeBel wrote in the majority decision - issued June 8.
The court further noted that collective bargaining complements, promotes and enhances fundamental Charter values such as equality and democracy: "Recognizing that workers have the right to bargain collectively as part of their freedom to associate reaffirms, enhances and promotes the values of dignity, personal autonomy, equality and democracy that are inherent in the Charter," it said.
Link to international treaties signed by Canada
The ruling also made a notable link between Canadian rights protected by the Charter and those in international treaties signed by Canada as a member of the United Nations (UN) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
"The Charter should be presumed to provide at least as great a level of protection as is found in the international human rights documents that Canada has ratified," the justices declared.
James Clancy, president of the 340,000-member National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), said the decision is one of the most important rulings for Canadian workers ever rendered by Canada’s top court.
"This landmark decision recognizes that collective bargaining is a human right for all workers, and it affirms that labour rights are human rights,” he said.
"It is a tremendous victory for workers across Canada because it applies not only to British Columbia but to all governments at all levels. As a result we now expect governments everywhere to abide by both the letter and spirit of this ruling."
Clancy said the decision also validates the campaign that the National Union has waged for many years to have labour rights recognized as human rights and to force Canadian governments to live up to the international treaties Canada has signed over the years.
"This ruling should force all governments to reassess the cavalier manner in which they have violated international conventions and standards on labour rights and at long last to abide by them," he added.
The case was launched by a group of B.C. labour organizations, including the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU/NUPGE).
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