NUPGE Takes Saskatchewan Government to ILO
Jun 27, 2008
A blog about six weeks ago addressed the anti-labour bills that the relatively new provincial government in Saskatchewan had passed. These two bills introduced by the Brad Wall government really have nothing to do with improving balance and cooperation between workers and employers and moreso will only serve to weaken workers’ rights and to tilt the balance in favour of employers.
Now, the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has announced that it has filed a formal complaint with the International Labour Organization (ILO) against these new Saskatchewan laws – Bill 5 (An Act respecting Essential Public Services) and Bill 6 (An Act to Amend the Trade Union Act). The complaint is being laid on behalf of NUPGE’s Saskatchewan component, the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union (SGEU).
The ILO is an agency of the United Nations that is responsible for formulating international labour standards. These minimum standards of basic labour rights cover such things as freedom of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, the right to strike and other standards. NUPGE is asking the ILO to find the government of Saskatchewan in violation of ILO Conventions that have been ratified by the federal, provincial and territorial governments of Canada.
NUPGE’s arguments are basically that the acts in question make it more difficult for workers to join unions, engage in collective bargaining and exercise their right to strike.
According to NUPGE, Bill 5 (An Act respecting Essential Public Services) provides such a broad definition of essential services that practically any public sector employee could be designated as “essential” and therefore not be able to exercise their right to strike.
Bill 6 (An Act to amend the Trade Union Act) limits the rights of Saskatchewan’s workers. It reduces the ability of workers to join unions and to engage in collective bargaining. It also leaves workers with less protection against unfair practices from employers.
As part of NUPGE’s statement of evidence that accompanies the ILO complaint, they allege that the two pieces of legislation violate the basic principle of freedom of association as set out in ILO Convention No. 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize) and the ILO’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
Convention No. 87 establishes the right of all workers to form and join unions of their own choosing without prior authorization and guarantees certain rights, such as that to engage in collective bargaining. The Declaration on Fundamental Principles commits governments (including Canada) to “respect, promote and to realize in good faith” the rights of workers and employers to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.
It will be very interesting to see how this case plays out at the ILO.
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