The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) launched legal proceedings in September 2005 to obtain rights for those workers.
The procedures were postponed last summer because the judge presiding the case wanted to wait for the Supreme Court decision on the issue in British Columbia involving HEU (Hospital Employees Union, an affiliate of CUPE) and the government of British Columbia.
“This decision has come down, and it says that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects bargaining rights for workers in this country”, explained Paul Moist, CUPE National President.
“This decision is very significant for this case. We have been arguing all along that, under the Charter of Rights, casual workers have the right to belong to a union. The judge will now hear arguments on how it applies to casuals in New Brunswick. We are hopeful that the court does the right thing and extends bargaining rights to casuals in New Brunswick”, added Moist.
“During the last provincial elections, the Liberal leader said he was prepared to review the policy period of casual employment. He added it was unacceptable for workers to be casuals for 2, 10 or 20 years without being able to become employees”, said Daniel Légère, President of CUPE NB.
“Since then, we met with government officials but we are still awaiting any changes on the issue”, concluded Daniel Légère.
The New Brunswick Union (NBU) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 37, are also part of these legal proceedings.
For more information:
Paul Moist, CUPE National President, 613-558-2873 (cell)
Daniel Légère, CUPE NB President, 506-869-0424 (cell)