TORONTO – Friday’s ruling by the Supreme Court that collective
bargaining rights are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
is very good news for part-time college workers in Ontario, according to Roger
Couvrette, president of an organization that represents 17,000 part-time college
workers.
“What is protected is simply the right of employees to associate
in a process of collective action to achieve workplace goals. If the government
substantially interferes with that right, it violates… the charter,” the Court
ruled. The Court was ruling on legislation in British Columbia that cancelled
various collective agreement provisions for health care workers, and then
precluded further bargaining on those issues.
“Ontario’s Colleges Collective Bargaining Act, and the related
legislation that denies part-time college workers the right to bargain
collectively is clearly in violation of the Charter,” Mr. Couvrette said. “If
anything, the Ontario government’s complete legal prohibition of any form of
collective bargaining for our members is a more extreme violation of their
Constitutional rights.”
In view of this ruling, Mr. Couvrette is calling upon all
political parties in Ontario to include a commitment to amend the Act as part of
their campaign platforms – an election will be held in Ontario on October 10,
2007.
“The writing is on the wall in terms of the need to amend the
legislation,” Mr. Couvrette said. “Our union should not be put to the expense
and delay involved in litigating this clear violation of the Charter,” he added.
In November 2006, the International Labour Organization (ILO)
called upon the Ontario government to move “rapidly” to amend the Act and give
part-time college workers the right to bargain collectively, “as any other
workers.”
“The government ignored the ILO,” Mr. Couvrette said, “but it
can’t ignore the Supreme Court of Canada.”
