NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Ontario farm labour ruling being appealed
A union is slamming the Ontario
government for seeking to overturn a landmark court decision that gave
farm workers the right to unionize.
Jan. 14, 2009, Toronto, Ont. — A union is slamming the Ontario government for seeking to overturn a landmark court decision that gave farm workers the right to unionize.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada says Premier Dalton McGuinty is more interested in scoring political points than doing the right thing. Union president Wayne Hanley says McGuinty is showing total disrespect for Ontario farm workers and taxpayers who will be forced to pay for the legal costs if the Supreme Court hears the appeal.
In November, Ontario’s top court tossed out a provincial law that effectively prohibited farm workers from unionizing. The Ontario Court of Appeal also gave the government a year to make changes that will let farm workers engage in collective bargaining.
The Agricultural Employees Protection Act was enacted in 2003 because farm workers were excluded from the Labour Relations Act. It protected the workers’ freedom to organize but not to collective bargaining.
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