UFCW, others oppose SC ruling vs farm unions

UFCW, others oppose SC ruling vs farm unions

The farm workers in Ontario will not be able to form labour unions decided the Supreme Court of Canada, upholding a provincial ban.

On April 29, the highest court of Canada said the Province of Ontario’s ban on farm unions is constitutional. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Canada brought the case forward and have been fighting for better rights for farm workers.

The decision prevents the estimated 80,000 Canadian and migrant farm workers in Ontario from collective bargaining with management through unions.
The Ontario law “provides workers with virtually no protection,” said Wayne Hanley, president of UFCW, said in a statement on their website.

Christopher Sorio agrees. He is the secretary general of Migrante Canada, a Philippine workers advocacy group. He said in an interview that temporary foreign workers cannot complain without a union to advocate on their behalf. “They have no choice but to keep quiet or risk losing their work,” he continued.

A growing number of Filipinos work in agriculture, in places like Leamington and Brantford, Ontario.

“The ruling of the Supreme Court is a reality, but so is the fact that Canada and Ontario have deservedly become international pariahs because of their attack on the rights of some of the most oppressed workers in the country,” Hanley said.

“Last week two Jamaican workers died,” said Stan Raper, the National Coordinator, Agriculture Workers Alliance, which is part of the UFCW. He said a health and safety violations create situations where thousands of workers lose limbs and endure “deplorable conditions” such as poor housing and exposure to pesticides.

The advocacy group brought forward the case against the Agriculture Employees Protection Act saying that the ban on collective bargaining was violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The said farmers should have the right to freely associate labour relations through unions, the group said.

Raper said the farm workers’ group was not asking for anything that is not already available. He said every other province, except for Alberta and Ontario allows farm workers the collective bargaining just like every other employer.

In 2008, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the farm workers’ protests against the law. The Province of Ontario appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“We have always recognized the importance of Ontario’s farm sector, which is why we filed this appeal,” said Elizabeth McClung from the agriculture ministry of Ontario in an email.

The Supreme Court said that farm workers can still associate with each other and talk to their employers, who should listen and respond to their concerns.
“We will carefully review the decision to determine how to best proceed. And we will continue to consult with the farming sector,” McClung said.

Raper said they were disappointed about the decision and it is now “a political matter.” In the lead up the provincial elections in the fall, they will “educate the Ontario population about the discriminatory policy of the McGuinty government.” The agricultural alliance will do so through speaking engagements and distribution of pamphlets.