Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 316, June 1999

Case No 1900 (Canada) - Complaint date: 23-AUG-96 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 28. The Committee last examined this case at its November 1997 and March 1998 meetings where it requested the Government, inter alia, to take the necessary measures to ensure that agricultural and horticultural workers, domestic workers, architects, dentists, land surveyors, lawyers and doctors all enjoyed the protection necessary to establish and join organizations of their own choosing (see 308th Report, para. 194 and 309th Report, para. 11).
2. 29. In a communication dated 16 March 1999, the Government recalls that the Ontario Court General Division dismissed on 9 December 1997 the application that was made on behalf of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) for an order striking down the repeal of the Agricultural Labour Relations Act, 1994, which had as a result the exclusion of agricultural workers from Ontario's statutory labour relations scheme. This case was brought before the Ontario Court of Appeal; on 26 January 1999 the appeal was dismissed, the Court of Appeal upholding the General Division Court's decision which had previously concluded that the exclusion of agricultural workers from Ontario's statutory labour relations scheme did not violate their freedom of association, or their right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law guaranteed by constitutional provisions. The Committee takes note of this information.
3. 30. The Government otherwise indicates that there is no further development worth mentioning in this case. However, it reiterates its beliefs that there are legitimate reasons for the exclusion of certain workers from the Labour Relations Act (LRA) statutory bargaining rights since Canadian labour laws originally enacted with industrial settings in mind are not always suitable for non-industrial workplaces. Moreover, the Government insists on the fact that such excluded categories of workers continue to be free to form voluntary association or unions or to bargain collectively with their employers outside the statutory legal framework. Noting this information, the Committee reiterates its insistence on the necessity for all workers without distinction whatsoever -- and especially for categories of workers traditionally known as more vulnerable -- to be able to organize freely, fully exercise all related rights and enjoy the necessary protection elaborated within the purview of freedom of association principles. The Committee draws the legislative aspects of this case to the attention of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations.