Robocommie
27th November 2009, 17:25
A friend of mine sent me this article, and I haven't seen it posted here yet.
http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/story.html?id=2275445
Top court backs Wal-Mart in union dispute
OTTAWA -- The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the right of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, to close shop after employees unionized at an outlet in Jonquiere, Que.
The store closure, which followed one of the first unionizations of Wal-Mart employees in North America, drew continent-wide attention and the high-stakes appeal has been closely watched by labour and business.
Laid-off workers at the store in Jonquiere argued Wal-Mart violated Quebec labour laws and the workers' constitutional rights by shutting its store during negotiations for an inaugural collective agreement in 2005.
Wal-Mart, with more than two million employees worldwide, has been fighting unionization in various Canadian courts and labour tribunals in recent years.
Citing the cost of rising wages, the retailer closed another outlet in Gatineau, Que., last fall after workers secured their first union contract.
A key question before the Supreme Court was whether the permanent closure of a store constitutes "good and sufficient reasons" ‘for terminating employment, the standard in the Quebec labour code.
Wal-Mart won the case in two lower courts in Quebec, which ruled a store cannot be forced to stay open against its will.
Lawyers for former clerks Gaetan Plourde and Johanne Desbiens argued in a Supreme Court hearing last January Wal-Mart not only broke provincial labour laws, but also violated freedom of association guarantees in the Canadian Charter of Rights.
The Canadian Labour Congress intervened on the workers' side to argue against an "unfettered right to close down operations" when workers unionize because it would "intimidate, prevent or discourage employees at other locations from exercising their freedom to unionize and engage in collective bargaining."
Wal-Mart has maintained it closed the Jonquiere store, located in Quebec's union heartland, because it was struggling financially at a time when the United Food and Commercial Workers wanted 30 more employees hired as part of the first collective agreement. Almost 200 employees worked at the store when it closed in May 2005.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Association of Manufacturers and Exporters intervened on Wal-Mart's side to urge the court to uphold business flexibility.
In North America, there are only a handful of Wal-Mart stores that are unionized, all in Canada.
http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/story.html?id=2275445
Top court backs Wal-Mart in union dispute
OTTAWA -- The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the right of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, to close shop after employees unionized at an outlet in Jonquiere, Que.
The store closure, which followed one of the first unionizations of Wal-Mart employees in North America, drew continent-wide attention and the high-stakes appeal has been closely watched by labour and business.
Laid-off workers at the store in Jonquiere argued Wal-Mart violated Quebec labour laws and the workers' constitutional rights by shutting its store during negotiations for an inaugural collective agreement in 2005.
Wal-Mart, with more than two million employees worldwide, has been fighting unionization in various Canadian courts and labour tribunals in recent years.
Citing the cost of rising wages, the retailer closed another outlet in Gatineau, Que., last fall after workers secured their first union contract.
A key question before the Supreme Court was whether the permanent closure of a store constitutes "good and sufficient reasons" ‘for terminating employment, the standard in the Quebec labour code.
Wal-Mart won the case in two lower courts in Quebec, which ruled a store cannot be forced to stay open against its will.
Lawyers for former clerks Gaetan Plourde and Johanne Desbiens argued in a Supreme Court hearing last January Wal-Mart not only broke provincial labour laws, but also violated freedom of association guarantees in the Canadian Charter of Rights.
The Canadian Labour Congress intervened on the workers' side to argue against an "unfettered right to close down operations" when workers unionize because it would "intimidate, prevent or discourage employees at other locations from exercising their freedom to unionize and engage in collective bargaining."
Wal-Mart has maintained it closed the Jonquiere store, located in Quebec's union heartland, because it was struggling financially at a time when the United Food and Commercial Workers wanted 30 more employees hired as part of the first collective agreement. Almost 200 employees worked at the store when it closed in May 2005.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Association of Manufacturers and Exporters intervened on Wal-Mart's side to urge the court to uphold business flexibility.
In North America, there are only a handful of Wal-Mart stores that are unionized, all in Canada.