{"id":281,"date":"2013-11-01T14:02:17","date_gmt":"2013-11-01T18:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/wordpress\/?p=281"},"modified":"2014-07-21T12:58:07","modified_gmt":"2014-07-21T16:58:07","slug":"ilo-finds-harper-tories-guilty-of-breaking-international-law-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iam140.ca\/?p=281","title":{"rendered":"ILO Finds Harper Tories Guilty of Breaking International Law (Again)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Thursday October 31, 2013<\/span><\/p>\n

For Immediate Release<\/span><\/p>\n

Toronto, ON – The International Labour Organization (ILO) Committee on Freedom of Association has found the Canadian Conservative Government guilty of contravening ILO conventions on Freedom of Association, the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining in its Bill C-33, the so-called \u201cProtecting Air Services Act\u201d of March, 2012. This Act took away the right to strike from both the Machinists Union (IAM) and Pilots Union (ACPA) at Air Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ILO Committee accepted the IAM complaint that the legislation was biased, unbalanced and punitive towards the workers involved, violating workers\u2019 collective bargaining rights and freedom of association. It explicitly rejected the Harper Government\u2019s claims that the law was required by economic necessity and the need to protect an essential service and \u201curges the Government, in the future, to give priority to collective bargaining.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bill C-33 made it illegal for members of the IAM and ACPA to exercise their right to strike under the Canada Labour Code and imposed \u201cfinal offer\u201d arbitration based on criteria clearly favouring the employer. Union members and officers faced exceptional harsh penalties for any failure to actively comply with the legislation.<\/span><\/p>\n

IAM Canadian General Vice-President Dave Ritchie hailed the Report: \u201cWe call on the Government of Canada to honor the right of freedom of association and collective bargaining for Air Canada\u2019s workers who have been impacted by Bill C-33, the draconian law that trampled on their rights.\u201d Ritchie added, \u201crather than serving as a beacon of light in upholding international labor rights, this Canadian government appears to be in the dark.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In agreeing with the IAM, the Committee requested that the Canadian Government, \u201cmake every effort in the future to avoid having recourse to back-to-work legislation\u2026and to limit its interventions to ensuring the observance of a minimum service, consistent with the principles of freedom of association\u201d. The Committee also singled out the Act\u2019s restraint on the arbitrator to render a decision, as well as penalties for the IAM and its representatives for violating the Protecting Air Services Act.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ILO Report can be found at: http:\/\/www.ilo.org\/wcmsp5\/groups\/public\/—ed_norm\/—relconf\/documents\/meetingdocument\/wcms_228181.pdf<\/span><\/p>\n

The ILO decision follows a similar ruling with respect to the Harper Government\u2019s 2011 legislation affecting bargaining between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and Canada Post.<\/span><\/p>\n

The IAM is challenging the constitutionality of Bill C-33 in the Ontario Court of Justice.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ILO is a tripartite (business\/labour\/government) body of the United Nations. Its Constitution recognizes the principle of Freedom of Association. Its Convention 87 (ratified by Canada) protects the Right to Strike. Its Convention 98 (not yet ratified by, but still binding on, Canada) protects the Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively).<\/span><\/p>\n

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the largest union at Air Canada, represents 8,000 maintenance mechanics, auto mechanics, millwrights, electricians, inspectors, technical writers, planners, instructors, baggage and cargo handlers, cabin groomers, baggage and cargo agents, and clerical workers at Air Canada bases across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

For further information:<\/span><\/p>\n

Bill Trbovich \u2013 IAM Director of Communications<\/span><\/p>\n

416-386-1789 Ext #6331\/416-735-9765<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thursday October 31, 2013 For Immediate Release Toronto, ON – The International Labour Organization (ILO) Committee on Freedom of Association has found the Canadian Conservative Government guilty of contravening ILO conventions on Freedom of Association, the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining in its Bill C-33, the so-called \u201cProtecting Air Services Act\u201d of March, 2012. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iam140.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iam140.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iam140.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iam140.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iam140.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.iam140.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":322,"href":"https:\/\/www.iam140.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions\/322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iam140.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iam140.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iam140.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}