Saskatchewan Court Strikes Down Brad Wall's 'Essential Services' Law - Right Wing Union Busting Takes A Punch In The Jaw
In a 132-page decision released Monday, Regina Justice Dennis Ball said the Public Service Essential Services Act, also known as Bill 5, infringes on workers' rights and is of "no force or effect."
However, a "declaration of invalidity" will be suspended for a year, Ball said.
The law, bitterly opposed by labour groups, was passed by the Saskatchewan Party government in 2008.
It sets out a process where some workers — such as nurses and snowplow drivers — can be declared essential and banned from going on strike.
The problem with Saskatchewan's law, Ball ruled, is that it doesn't give employees an adequate dispute resolution process where they can challenge which employees are designated as essential.
"Although the benefits that accrue from the statutory limitations on the rights to bargain collectively and to strike are significant, they are clearly outweighed by their deleterious effects on the employees affected," Ball said in the decision."
CBC Saskatchewan
Nice to see a little ray of light in the current sea of darkness when it comes to workers rights.
Posted by
sassy |
8:46 pm, February 06, 2012