July 26, 2006

Right of casuals to join unions in court

FREDERICTON

A New Brunswick court began weighing arguments on whether casual workers have a constitutional right to join a union.

The legal fight was launched by a coalition of New Brunswick unions on behalf of as many as 6,000 temporary or seasonal workers who are employed by the province.

The New Brunswick chapter of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the New Brunswick Union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 37 hope the Court of Queen’s Bench finds that rules preventing casual workers from joining a public sector union violate the Charter of Rights.

While the Charter does not guarantee the right to join a union, it does protect the right to freedom of association.

Danny Leger, CUPE NB president, says there are some people who’ve been casual employees for 15 or 20 years —doing the same job as full-time unionized employees.

The fight over casual workers has been waged multiple times over the past 20 years, including a failed court challenge in the 1980s.

“We’ve got workplaces with two types of workers working side-by-side,’’ said Leger.

One employee has the rights and benefits of the union. The other does not have such rights and benefits, he said.

Casual workers employed by the province don’t have employee status under the act governing the public sector. Most casuals are on a six-month-on, six-month-off type of rotation, although there are other variations.

If the case fails, the unions are prepared to take it all the way to the Supreme Court, he said.

CANADIAN PRESS

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