January 7, 2011 - Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

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Protecting the Labour Rights of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in a Globalized World Whoweare The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour (NLFL) proudly represents 25 affiliated unions, over 500 locals and 65,000 working women and men in every sector of our economy, and in every community of our province. For 75 years, we have worked to advance the cause of working people and all citizens in our province by promoting and advocating for a more progressive civil society where no one gets left behind and a fair sharing of the wealth from our economy occurs. We advocate for improved worker rights and stronger laws in the areas of labour relations, workplace rights, and occupational, health and safety as well as Workers’ Compensation and Employment Insurance programs that are adequate, fair and there for people when they need them. We promote strong, accessible public services such as universal health care, education, worker training, elder/home care and child care and early learning. We stand up for the principles of equality, equity and social justice and we work with our affiliate unions and social partners to build a better world for all citizens. And while our Federation does not engage in collective bargaining, we are certainly interested in ensuring that collective bargaining and labour-management relationships in our province are as strong as possible and that workers and their unions have the best possible labour law regime under which to operate. The right to belong to a union or freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, and the right to strike are fundamental labour rights – recognized internationally through bodies such as the International Labour Organization, a United Nations body, and through documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which has also been adopted by Canada and many nations throughout the world. In addition, labour rights, while seriously eroded in Canada over the last two decades, were recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada in a June 2007 decision re Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour Page 1
Protecting the Labour Rights of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in a Globalized World B.C. Health Services which upheld the rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining. “Further, the right to collective bargaining is neither of recent origin nor merely a creature of statute. The history of collective bargaining in Canada reveals that long before the present statutory labour regimes were put in place, collective bargaining was recognized as a fundamental aspect of Canadian society, emerging as the most significant collective activity through which freedom of association is expressed in the labour context. Association for purposes of collective bargaining has long been recognized as a fundamental Canadian right which predated the Charter. The protection enshrined in s. 2(d) of the Charter may properly be seen as the culmination of a historical movement towards the recognition of a procedural right to collective bargaining. Canada’s adherence to international documents recognizing a right to collective bargaining also supports recognition of that right in s. 2(d). The Charter should be presumed to provide at least as great a level of protection as is found in the international human rights documents that Canada has ratified. Lastly, the protection of collective bargaining under s. 2(d) is consistent with and supportive of the values underlying the Charter and the purposes of the Charter as a whole. Recognizing that workers have the right to bargain collectively as part of their freedom to associate reaffirms the values of dignity, personal autonomy, equality and democracy that are inherent in the Charter.” 1 1 Supreme Court of Canada. Health Services and Support – Facilities Subsector Bargaining Assn. v. British Columbia, [2007] 2 S.C.R. 391, 2007 SCC 27 Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour Page 2
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January 7, 2011 - Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

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