Collective Bargaining Rights, Labour Heritage Moment Video
In 2002, BC’s Liberal provincial government broke its promise to healthcare workers by tearing up their collective agreements, paving the way for widespread contracting-out and privatization in health care.
This video is part of our Labour Heritage Moments series.
Featuring Raj Chouhan, the vide begins with him recounting that prior to forming the government, Gordon Campbell had promised not to touch workers’ health and safety, rights, or collective agreements, and assured no contracting out would occur. However, upon forming the government, their first act was to introduce a bill to privatize and contract out certain hospital services. This resulted in 9,000 women losing their jobs overnight, many of whom were women of color, particularly South Asian women.
Kristina Vandervoort added that many were single parents. While rehiring was possible, it was for much lower wages, with no vacation or sick time, which was devastating.
In response, BC unions, spearheaded by the Hospital Employees’ Union, launched a constitutional challenge at the Supreme Court of Canada. Judy Darcy explained that despite the significant resources required, they deemed it worthwhile, aiming to establish collective bargaining rights as charter-protected, a claim unions had not successfully made before.
A significant victory was achieved on June 8, 2007, when a legal precedent was set, enshrining collective bargaining as a fundamental right for all workers. This decision also helped other unions secure the right to strike and the right to negotiate working conditions. Judy Darcy vividly recalled the moment their lawyer, Joe Arvay, called from Ottawa to tell them, “We won,” leading to an explosion of jubilation. In recognition of this landmark decision, the BC Federation of Labour has adopted June 8th as Collective Bargaining Rights Day.