Michael Walker of the Fraser Registered Charity

Michael Walker of the Fraser Institute, a registered charity which, unlike the Suzuki Foundation, has not been audited by Canada Revenue Agency, claims his people did analyses of workers in hotels who were also doing cooking and cleaning services and found their wages to be lower, though he doesn't say by how much.

That may be so, but there needs to be some particular attention paid to the skill levels and responsibility levels. A poorly made bed at the hotel is an inconvenience. An unclean room at the hospital can be an actual risk factor.

How will Premier Campbell's Govt react to this ruling? A clue can be found in the Email from one of Health Minister Abbott's press officers:

"This will include discussions with health authorities and contracted service providers, which will be impacted by the decision."

Note that unions will not be among those consulted.

It's hard to say how far this might go, but the real underlying issue is unpaid severance that would have been mandated under the old agreement which Campbell vaporized with his 77 to 2 seat majority. As a rough guess, multiply Mike Old's estimate of 8,000 layoffs by $50,000 per person and you get $400,000,000. Will Campbell and Taylor and Abbott want to pay out that kind of money to people they hate, and who their core supporters and major contributors hate? I rather think not.

So then we get down to the business of invoking the notwithstanding clause in order to "put patients first". Meaning, let's put middle and upper class taxpayers first, and make sure that low paid workers stay where they are, no matter what.

Now I hope the Liberal Party will pay not the taxpayer.

""One arm of the trade union movement was telling another arm of the movement, the NDP government, what to do."" Such brilliance from Michael Walker. It is almost astounding.

I guess he thinks it is better that one CEO of a company in the corporate sector pays campaign contributions to the Liberals and then tells Gordon @ 54% what to do and when the legislation is changed the company makes greater profits.

Give workers fair negotiating rules and this results in some unionization and some decent wages and a measure of job security and you have to be in the pockets of big labour.

New Patron Saint of the Labour Movement

It is ironic that Gordon Campbell, who was the father of the bullying, arrogant, intellectually and morally challenged Bill 29, must surely now be high on the list to go down in history as the patron saint of unions in Canada. His overreaching has firmly established a charter right where, prior to his hubris, there was considerable doubt as to whether such a right existed.

With the collaboration of the main stream BC media many BC residents really were convinced that governing in accordance with the divine right of kings theory was an acceptable way for the BC Liberal government to operate. It is good to see the courts reaffirm principles that did away with that theory.

Abbott

Just made a short statement. To wit:
THis is now the law of the land - we can't appeal it to anyone - we are now working on changing our legislation to bring it into compliance.

No suggestion they'd try to 'notwithstand' the ruling.

Abbott did not sound pleased.

Great News!

This is the best news I can ever recall reading. It ranks right up there with Agnew and Nixon resigning and the end of the Vietnam draft preceding the end of the Vietnam War. ...And, I read it on the Tyee, first!

Perhaps now, the the oppressed may feel that they have a chance against the bullisome tactics employed by the Federal and Provincial governments on theri journeys toward union with the USA.

Hooray! I'm going to find some health care workers and celebrate!

The Tide is Turning

First, let me underline a comment made by Budd Campbell. Abbott reacts by saying he will need to talk with "health authorities and contracted service providers". The SCC quite specifically condemned the Liberals for not talking with Unions or workers, before imposing the now impugned draconian legislation.

Apparently, not only can the Liberals not learn, they can't read.

This is the second major judicial "dressing down" of the Liberals in a week. This one underlines their vicious incompentence, the disclosure decision in the Basi/Virk trial strongly suggests a level of perhaps corrupt activity.

Add all of this to the overt greed in lining their own pockets with pay packet and pension increases, surely the majority in B.C. will now begin to see past photo-ops with the so-called "Governator".

Supreme Court

anyone who wishes to read the complete decision can find it at
http://www.scc.lexum.umontreal.ca
the docket number is 30554

The minister is crying about laws at the time. The decision explains why the laws of the time have been superceded

dead again

damn I don't know why I keep giving broken url's. Go to the supreme court website. The docket number is the same.30554

Zippedy doo dah zippedy aye,

Zippedy doo dah zippedy aye, my oh my what a wonderful day! Yay Canada! Human decency may prevail after all. It has been so sad over the years to see the BC "Liberals" in action. It was as though the biggest dorks from high school were suddenly given all the power to take over the school, and they believed deeply that they deserved it. They were mostly dorky men, of course, with the resultant goofy and sexist attitudes towards women that inexperienced dorks tend to have. They were drunk with their newfound power, and felt able to do whatever they wished. I'll never forget the lack of graciousness they demonstrated towards the two heroic NDP women who had to deal with these self important bullies. Thank God/Goddess that we have some basic rules in place that have joyously (for me) demonstrated reality to these dimwits. First the Basi/Virk situation (may it prevail to the point where all relevant truths are exposed) and now this supreme court victory. Take that you woman haters!!! I dread having to watch Abbott talk about it with his lowered head and stupid arrogant way of never answering any actual questions. How will he blame the NDP this time?

This is Fantastic News

I am so thrilled for all the health care workers in particular who will be positively affected by this.

But this is also a huge victory for the rights of workers across the country.

I am not an NDP supporter or a union activist, but having seen first hand what has happened to workers in the health care sector in B.C. in the last few years, this is SUCH good news.

Old Chief Dan george used to

Old Chief Dan george used to say"My heart soars" The top court in the land told Gordon and gang to smarten up. We all know someone who lost a job in some hospital or care home . A woman with four kids that we know kept her job as LPN due to her senority,but lost 4 bucks an hour. Tied will no increases for a number of years that's a lot of dollars. Those sleezy character that bought contracts and ofered work at less money, flipped the places again, should be shipped somewhere else. Gordo will have lost a few right of center freinds in assorted provincial governments as , of course the ruling applies canada wide.Way to go sisters and brothers. I was getting tired of hearing if you don't like it go somehwere else.

http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca

http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/2007/2007scc27/2007scc27.html

This brings up the court case

Bill 29

June 08 2007 should be declared the day that democracy was restored to British Columbia.

Well done Supreme Court. Once again a contract is a contract is a contract.

Bill 29: actually really poor management & economics

I was told by management of one of the healthcare region that Bill 29 made no economic sense at the end. By hiring untrained (or poorly trained and experienced) cleaners,... doctors would often ask surgery rooms to be cleaned again as they did not meet their standards (creating a hazard to the patient). Now, by saving a few dollars a day in healthworkers' wage, the Liberals we paying big bucks when doctors were waiting to have the operating room re-cleaned. Maybe this does explain the exploding healthcare budgets and waiting lists. Although the fast ferry with Clark and the union was a fiasco, it dwarfs it compare to the Oh...limpics and this (amongst other things).

June 08, 2007 celebrations

June 08, 2007 celebrations should start tomorrow at a hospital near you and carry on for the weekend!
We in BC and All Canadian people have won back OUR Democracy!
WOW, what a wondrous feeling of real Democracy at work Thanks to the BCHEU, BC Government and Service Employees Union and the Supreme Court of Canada for seeing what was really happening.
Now for the treasonous Fed Conservatives and the Fed Liberals who got us into a false war and the sellout of Canada NAU to big Corporations!
Don't forget the media being very quiet about this evil called deep integration?

"Maybe this does explain the

"Maybe this does explain the exploding healthcare budgets and waiting lists."

You absolutly right. The billions added to health care, with no improvements in service, is directly related to lower paid janitors. Maybe you should run a health authority. Increase janitor's pay and the health care system will fix itself. Brilliant.

Did deaths result?

As a result of Bill 29, unionized eldercare workers at one point predicted that due to stress and confusion at having their long term, professional, familiar staff replaced by teenaged and unqualified workers, and of being arbitrarily relocated to subcontracted service providers, fragile elders would likely die.

Then, some months later, the same workers reported that up to 25% of affected elders had passed away, a much higher than expected number, even during flu season.

No names were given, due to professional confidentiality rules, and needless to say, there was little media coverage. At the time the coroners service was under great stress as well, and largely offline.

If this story was true, the families of the elders affected would be the only ones with the right to tell their stories.

Are there any family members reading here who could relate what effect this abusive bill had on their relatives?

re JIm > I am repeating what a manager told me ...

Yes! You are right! It sounds illogical, but it is not. By pulling all of those people and replacing them with untrained and inexperienced staff, inefficiencies were created, which cost much more than the savings made by hiring less expensive workers and less efficient workers (performing poorly, making mistakes, and, as in the example of the poorly cleaned surgical rooms, adding more problems and costs to an already stressed system).

Management

The Libs throw more dollars at health and education than the NDP did yet get worse outcomes. In fact, even with less students and more money the schools can't stay open as many days as they did under the NDP. They increase the health budget yet can't get operating rooms cleaned properly.

No matter how you slice it and dice it the Libs are, simply put, piss poor at managing taxpayer money.

Which probably explains why they're hell bent on privatization, they know themselves that anyone would be better than them at managing those dollars.

What's good for the goose.....

So Michael Walker of the Fraser Institute says "The Campbell government was right to tear up government contracts... because those contracts were signed by a previous government supported by labor".

Gee, Mr. Walker, I guess that means we should start ripping up contracts signed between the government and its business supporters, eh? The contract between the government and P(OOLE) CL for the grossly over budget trade and convention centre would be a good place to start. Whaddya think, Mikey?

Minister Abbott

I heard the Minister tell Bill Tielman that they are not going to rush in they must see what happens. Itsemms that since Bill 29 is still law they will not reverse layoffs and must see how to use it to keep things as they are.

Frank

You're really comforting, you are.

It takes very little skill to hack and slash indiscriminatingly.

The rule of law...........

In this country we live by a rule of law, criminal and civil. Contracts are the basis of civil law and to make void a contract by government decree is to void civil law.

The dull-witted Campbell and his band of thugs, have by making void the Health workers collective agreement (a contract) has made the precedent of voiding law.

This has serious implications for government, as who ever rules can make past civil law void. CN Deal; MLA's pensions; P-3's void!

Think about it as our form is based on precedent, not the American way of statute law!

Now come the usual Reform

Now come the usual Reform screams:" It is the right and duty of the governments, not of the courts to make laws! The courts shouldn't interfere with government business....etc"

Thank God for the courts. If Germany and other countries had courts with the right to strike down laws imposed by dictators, Hitler's hands would have been tied.

It is bad enough that governments are permitted to get away with phoney "free trade" treaties that strip the decision making powers of societies. If I had the money, I would sue the NAFTA and all the secret deals tomorrow.

Here in Williams Lake a perfectly good, 20 year old, old age facility was closed down, against even the demands of the right wing dominated council and mayor, and 7,000 signatures and the patients transferred to a private facility.

Nobody knows what the government pays them, but the wages of the staff have been cut and their workload increased, until there's a large turnover, because they burn out and can't handle the load.

The Fraser Inst. is an advertising agency, disguised as a charity, with $25,000/year memberships. Who the hell cares what they say?

If workers have no right to organize, then neither does business, to fix prices and conspire how to screw the public, while calling it "competition". Sure! Competing who can steal more.

Ed Deak,

Bill 29 Victory

Well I am a HEU member. This is a small victory in my eyes. I doubt those who lost jobs will ever get them back. In Victoria we are locked into a contract with private housekeeping and food services. One example of this disaster is one patient complained to us a housekeeper cleaned his toilet then with the same rag washed his bedside table. You do not want to hear about pictures we have taken of rooms that were supposedly cleaned. These are rooms that are supposed to be teminally cleaned ( a thorough clean of an isolated room). The government says these moves were made for patient care. To put the money back into that. Well I still remember Bill 37 where I lost 15% of my wage. I still remember as we were forced back to work and management at same time getting 33% or better raise. Is that putting the money back to patient care?
I have no doubt Gordon Campbell and the Liberal government will take the full year allowed to implement the changes demanded by this bill.
It is a victory though for all unions. We have now proved that a contract signed with one government must still be honoured when the government changes. Our job security was not the unions telling NDP what to do. At the time we won that we gave up raises and such to get that. It was a bargained benefit. It was not easily won.
So now I am sure there will be much time tied up interpretting what the supreme court really said. The battle is just beginning.
Thanks to all who supported us in this battle.

So Adam West....

What is so impossible to honor about 1.5%/ 2.0%/ 1.5% or COL after two contracts of 0/0/0 that the HEU got in 2001. The outrageous pay raises (not that I don't think nursing didn't deserve a good raise) handed out was by the bcfibbers at 23% and they also doubled the cost of BCMedical just after they were elected and refused to fund any of the increased costs. The fibbers didn't even begin to deal with the increased costs that they caused until just before the last election. Oh, and really the extra cash they through in barely covered the increases in contracts that they had negoitated and their increases to the numbers of management and managements' never missed raises.

Ready for that beer

You're absolutely correct Blonde Pitbull. Adamwest has no clue what he's talking about.

The optics of seeing the chiseling BCLiberals - when it comes to wages and contract security for health care workers - as opposed to the truly obscene wage they've just given themselves are damning. The incompetence of this government, whether it is in the way they've managed health care; sold out the power generating capacity of the province; failed to control the greed of their corporate friends; sacrificed the future of the forest industry....well, you get the point.

It is all catching up to them.

Tricia58...

You are so right that this is only a small victory for us the HEU (I'm HEU,too). I agree that I don't see those that got screwed out of their jobs getting them back any time soon. To be honest I don't see a win win solution for any of the workers(in house or out) coming out of this. Too much time has passed to undo alot of the misery that has occurred. However the fibbers got two good shots to their egos this week by the courts this week and that alone makes me HAPPY!!!
The fibbers will probabaly take the full year to react to this ruling and even then I'm leary of thinking they'll do good. Maybe someone out there could tell me/us if they pull their usual sh!t does this have to go through all levels of court to be dealt with again?

My wife had an accident last

My wife had an accident last July and was hospitalized for 4 days in Williams Lake.

The food was imported from God knows where, total garbage, warmed up with microwaves which kill all food values, and none of the 4 women in her room could eat any of it. All ended up in the garbage. The cleaning was poor and not done and the great nursing staff was running off their feet, understaffed and overworked.

When I picked her up I bought a big bag of candies and put it into the nurses' station as our thanks and for their enjoyment.

When we moved here in 1979, the hospital was proud of the fact that they could handle anything short of open heart surgeries and transplants. Now they have to transport even simple bone fractures to Kamloops, 3 1/2 hours drive, each way.

This is what they call "fiscally conservative cost efficiency".

Ed Deak.

Consults with who?

So many great comments here. Many comment on how the ruling blasted the Liberals for not consulting unions before Bill 29. Many pick up on how now they still do not talk of consulting the unions again now. I remember back to Bill 29 when the support staff at our hospital at least went to management and offered to take a roll back to keep their jobs. There were other options open if consultation had taken place. Gordon Campbell is an autocratic ruler who does not believe in consultation and I do not believe he will change now.

Hey Alive, take a look at the corporate media

Glance at the Sun today. One columnist says "hey don't worry", this really only affects a very few and doesn't disturbed the real powers to impose contracts. The news reporter "balances" the article with Abbott's hand-wringing about how the Liberals folowed the law and its the law that has changed, thanks to the old bogey of "activist judges" (on one of the most conservative SCC in years!).

It's the editorial that really clinches it. If a person was unaware of the history and the decision itself, one would think the court said to the Liberals and the Unions, a pox on both your houses. It places the onus back on all the parties to act in good faith and resolve this most unfortuante glitch".

A week ago I stopped paying the Sun (I can peruse it online, so why underwrite its claptrap). I'm very thankful for alternatives like the Tyee which actually lists towards fair comment.

DPL

Oh yes DPL you have discovered one of the problems we deal with in the new private service. Sometimes those people we cannot feed are diabetics who need their diet.
In the old public service we used to have patient kitchens that had small amounts of some food we could feed those patients who arrived to floor after meal times. That is no longer the case.
Many many changes made to improve patient care. Aren't you glad to see how well they are working and the improved service you got.
I am a LPN who works the front line and takes the brunt of it from those not feeling well and we cannot give them the service they deserve.

Abbotts dead pan face on

Abbotts dead pan face on nonnews last night was priceless and an idiotic response still thinking they are above the law of the land just by sticking it back in the Supream Courts face. Bad Abbott, Hey A-b-b-bo-t-t-t" from Abottot and Costello
I still think July 1st as being Canada Day we as Canadians should show the Harpers and P Martins, J Creations, Campbells, and all of their lap dogs what Canada and Canadians are all about!
A proud Sovereign, Free Country!

B.P.

I joined your picket lines at the time that this happened and will continue to support anyone who believes that they have a right to defend themselves against any form of governments who seek to enslave the general population in the name of corporate greed. I just hope the H.E.U. will return the favour by supporting the disabled protests at the para-olympic games. We are currently seeking a boycott of the games by Canadian para-olympic athletes who recognize that the United Nations have cited Canada three times for financial cruelty to the disabled population of Canada. Unfortunately, our governments will only respond to world opinion to help us and to publicly show the world just how uncaring Canada is to its disabled, this will be necessary. Too bad all of Canada will be branded by the actions of uncaring politicians.

May I restate our information?

Often when I'm trying to wrap my head around a complex set of variables, I find it helps to restate it and check the connections. Please correct any errors of fact you notice, I think these are all verifiable facts, but there are a lot of them.

When the current BC Liberals got that huge majority in 2001 they did a thing. At about 4am one morning they passed a law called Bill 29. Sounds innocuous.

It wiped out the right to collective bargaining, took to the government the power to rip up any contract they wanted, abolished successorship, which is the principle that if a company is sold or changed, it's collective agreement with the workers remains in force, binding the new owners as it did the old.

Since it was passed, tens of thousands of mostly women healthcare workers, nurses, teachers and social worker types have been fired and replaced by poorly trained cheapo types at $9.50 an hour or so. Then many eldercare places started flipping ownership back and forth, since every time they replaced union workers with new unrepresented people, mostly very young or with poor language skills. The newbies soon realized the complexities and responsibilites of the job, and when the full personal liability started to sink in, they would immediately seek union representation. They certified, and the owners would flip the company and fire them again. After a while they started running out of suckers to hire, and began shipping the elders to subcontractors, where their original professional caregivers reported that many of them just died.

Yesterday the Supreme Court of Canada overturned it. Most of it. Called it a violation of several key parts of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Freedom of association and like that. The Liberals are some ticked off, boy. They get a year to try to repass a new law. Then see whether that one passes court challenges over the next seven or eight years.

Continued

Also, in other news, BC Justice Elizabeth Bennet ruled that the Crown (a BC Special Prosecutor) in the Basi/Virk matter had largely failed to disclose the evidence to the defence. This is a case where some political aides to BC Cabinet ministers are charged with fraud, money laundering, bribery and influence peddling arising from the RCMP raid on the BC Legislature a few years ago. The defence claims that these guys are patsies for their political masters, maybe the premier and several cabinet ministers. Set up to take the fall.

She ordered that 'every officer and every civilian who had ever touched any piece of paper relating to the process or the sale of BC Rail to CN Rail shall examine them and submit them to the defence.' This order is completely unprecedented. It appears to include everything, even cabinet documents. In Parliamentary procedures, cabinet papers are completely confidential, so that cabinet can work with all kinds of information to make policy. They never come out. The only exception I know of is to prevent secrecy from being used to cover up criminal behavior. She didn't cite the exception specifically, but it's the only possible basis for her order.

So, both the BC Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Canada have declared the Liberal Government of BC to be quite likely criminal this week.

Um, I forgot one thing

Allegedly.

Good news

Hooray for our Charter and kudos to the union folks who persevered in fighting this all the way.

Our leaders have been taking us down a very scary path and this decision will alleviate a lot of fear about the extent to which power can be abused once you get control of it.

And now that it's clear we can't make our health care system "sustainable" at current funding levels by standing on the necks of the lowliest workers, what next, I wonder? More pressure for privatization and two-tier health care, perhaps?

Supreme Court

Steve wishes for a more American way of appointing judges. Right now five of seven or maybe seven of nine (not sure of the numbers) Supreme Court Justices are Conservative Catholic in the U.S.
Steve started (baby steps) with the "public" interviewing process for the most recent addition to the Supreme Court in Canada (forget his name) as is done in the U.S.

They`ll be working on the problem. To reconstruct a country (or province) in your own vision..you must control the judicial system...have your own people in place.

So the activist liberal

So the activist liberal judges on the Supreme Court have decreed that the centre-right B.C. Liberals have violated Pierre Trudeau's sacred Charter. Big deal. The libs did what they had to do to get this province back on track. Since then they've been signing reasonable deals, the unemployment rate is down, the economy is booming, and British Columbians are happy, as witnessed by the polls, which say that they hold a healthy lead even though they're in the middle of their mandate. That hasn't happened for a very long time.

Global coverage

I watched for coverae of this by Global on the 6PM and the 11:00 PM news. In both cases, the announcers turned it over to a taped Baldry report. The announcers read the report aoubt 35 minutes into the news with flat affect. By the time the story appeared, I was fully bored from having watched non-news items such as Paris Hilton's returning to jail saga. They were probably pleased that the ruling came on a Friday after The BC Legislature closed (for the season/year?). In that way, the issue could be dealt with in a cursory manner, and by Monday the Liberals may be lucky enough to have another flood-like event to flood the news so that these big issues like Basi-Virk cover-ups, HEU bashing, and mismanagement of the public purse could continue.

sorry for the typos

I'm sorry for the typos, above, but my arthritis is acting up quite severely -draining my energy and causing my fingers not to act like i think they should. Under Liberal care, my rheumatologist is 2.5 hours away. I have a job with people who are quite happy with my work so I must remain where I am. I think it would be difficult for me to find work as a middle-aged person with disfiguring arthritis so I can't move closer to the health care providers - such is the nature of closing down hospitals in the Interior. Further, BC Med/Pharmacare does not recognise several of the drugs that have been approved by health Canada for the treatment of my disease - so if I want these drugs (which carry the hope to extend my life and its usefulness), it is about $20,000 per year out of my pocket.

Yeah, I'm really impressed with the way our government is looking after my needs. I've worked hard, been careful with my money, sent kids through university, volunteered great amounts of time and effort to my community and the poor, paid taxes and never collected EI or Social Assistance for my 35 years in the workforce. Now that I need some help, I'm starting to feel like the horse in Animal Farm that gets sent to the glue factory by the con-artist pigs running the show.

186 media monitors

With 186 media monitors on the public payroll, it is not hard to imagine that some of them would be paid to monitor and suppress rights for workers while they support the desires of the Liberals on a sites like the Tyee.

Welll! Adamwest...Ka-Pow!

The last election, if you know as much about BC Politics as you pretend to do, was certainly spin-doctored and compromised by CanWest and other media Adamwest.

Absent that interference - and it was blatant interference - it is entirely possible that Campbell would not have been re-elected.

You can look it up.

A very small number of votes in a few strategic ridings would have sent the LINO party back into opposition - check it out (and I don't mean here at Tyee).

In fact, I actually wonder if you're not just another OIC 656 paid Media monitor yourself Adamwest. There is something quite programmatic and familiar about your words.

The illegal action, relative to Bill 29, was the unconstitutional action of the Campbell Government. You might want to refer back to the Government's action relative to the Crown Counsel Settlement as well. A little research would allow you to appreciate that the Cabinet in that case decided to reject the settlement terms of an arbitrator it had agreed to appoint in order to impose a 'binding' settlement. When the terms of the ‘binding settlement’ were not to the Government’s liking…well, as I said, it would be unfair of me to not permit you to do the research yourself since you are such a knowledgeable student of politics – check it out and you’ll find out what happened.

I don't believe the courts that have acted illegally in this province my friend. In fact, there is every indication that the hypocrisy is all on the other side. Have you ever wondered why the Attorney General is not taking the questions on the Supreme Court’s decision?
I’d suggest it’s because this government DOES NOT WANT to answer the difficult legal questions that its behavior have posed.

You can check it out. However, it is actually much simpler just to call people names, isn’t it?

Adam West

Bill 29 ripped up our contracts. Our illegal strike was in reaction to Bill 37. Another Bill that further eroded us. After Bill 37 management did get raises. So it was not a matter of no money. It was a matter of suppress the lowest paid and reward the higher paid. So the answer I seek from your reasoning are all government contracts open to ripping up if the new government of the day does not like them? It is not just our contract that this battle was fought for.

In a word, YES

If the Alternative is Abbott and his sellout friends from False Creek Medical - yes.

If the alternative is Premier Campbell and his brother - yes.

If the weakening of our health system (and I’d like to know where you got the information that Pharmacare was the ‘best’ in Canada.) is the alternative – yes.

If the business practice of using overtime to address staff shortages rather than fully funding more beds (which would actually be cheaper) – yes.

The evidence of poor management - here I'd ask that you refer to former Deputy Minister Penny Ballam for your information on this file - is over-whelming.

This Government mistakes harshness, a lack of deliberation and an inability to consult with the stakeholders for good management. The facts are clear and they are in plain sight. These people think they are excellent managers – if you tend to agree, I’d suggest you look at some of the Olympic cost over-runs as they are booked; I’d suggest you look at the cost-plus contract for the Convention Centre expansion; I’d suggest you look at the contract(s) for the RAV line.

As for whether or not you're being paid...it's really irrelevant - your defence of the party line lacks fundamental substance and is, on balance, pretty similar to Erin Airton: blame everything on the Opposition.

Take a few minutes and read the last of Premier Campbell's answers to questions in the house (in Hansard) and remember that out of 110 minutes available for his answers complete silence (63 minutes) settled on the chamber while he divined how to avoid actually answering any questions.

The man is either incompetent or afraid of saying something he may later be tasked with.

Is this leadership?

I think not. He should resign. Now.

A Time for Change

You know, when you've been an activist for what seems a lifetime. Been to rally after rally, on the pickets lines. Attended governmental "stakeholder" forums, met with MP's, written letters to the editor forever, sometimes you wonder what it all adds up to. Sometimes a person feels like they are just cannon fodder endlessly swimming against the tide and wondering why they just don't sell out like so many have.

But then we see a couple of court rulings like we have never seen before. Its heartening.

Maybe the courts are also recognizing that the very fabric of Canadian Civil Society is being torn away by one neo-conservitive government after another. Maybe the judges can see that any functioning society needs a counterveiling force to keep the elite in check.

Now is the time for working people, First Nations and all other communites to really turn up the heat on this morally bankraupt government. Before they pollute and destroy our evironment any further (Gateway) and transfer all of our public wealth out of reach of us and into the hands of their corporate friends forever.

In other words, take these recent decisions as a sign that it is not only the "lefties" that that can see the problems, coruption and destruction of our way of life. Perhaps the Courts of this land have had enough now too.

Once again; This is a

Once again; This is a decision of an activist left-wing Supreme Court based on a Charter that is ambiguous and nebulous. Trudeau knew that the Liberals are the natural governing party of Canada and that they would be appointing the judges, at least for the most part, well into the future. It was a Charter that was never really needed because we had a very good Bill of Rights. This was simply a way for Trudeau to put his liberal stamp on our nation forever. That can't be ignored when discussing the decisions of this court.

contract is a contract

A contract is a contract.

Any right wing capitalist with a shred of moral fibre will tell you that a an individual's, a corporation's or a government's word is its bond.

If my father made a deal with someone and he died, I would honour that deal. If a corporation made a service agreement with me in relation to the purchase of one of their products, I would expect a new board governing that corporation to honour the agreement: that is what the board inherited. This government inherited the contracts of the employees of the government. It was not up to the government to unilaterally dissolve those contracts.

This government has done an abysmal job managing this province. The poor have become poorer; the children in care are not thriving. The median income of the average BC family has not increased when compared to costs: housing, heat, electricity, transportation, user fees, bread, milk, vegetables, insurance, health care, property taxes.

For Liberals to say it was necessary to cut wages of people who clean up after and take care of sick and dying people is an outrage on it's own, but to tear up legal contracts in doing it is mean-spirited and wrong. Those health care people were not even making a median wage! The government has saved no money by privatizing this work. The government did nothing but line the pockets of wealthy people and put the lives of huge numbers of fine citizens into turmoil. Both the workers and the receivers of their services have not been happy with the changes. My community has not flourished under this government. I believe that the measure of a people (or their government) is how they treat others as a whole - including the vulnerable. Vulnerable people rarely get stronger by having bullies kick them and hold them down.

Please justify.

I don't think there is a single shred of actual evidence for this statement of yours.

In fact, I think the Canadian Supreme Court is NOT an activist court in any commonly understood sense of that term.

The Charter was badly needed and has moved Canada into the rank of nations where human rights and the status of minorities are actually paid more than just lip service.

Diefenbaker's Bill of Rights was a decent start but without Constitutional backing was not much more than a series of slogans.

I find most of the people who criticize the Charter and its applications are almost never capable of actually defending their accusations.

I suspect you, Adamwest, fall into this category as well. What left wing things are you talking about?

neo-con revolution

The global neo/con, neo/lib ( I see them as the same now with the exception the liberals don`t have the "Jesus" component") revolution is being conducted in a variety of ways.
Here in Canada Steve is using stealth of course as Murray points out.
In the Atlantic Provinces where Steve has often held they are in need of strong medicine to rid them of their long standing government handout dependency, they are shortchanged on transfer payments. Williams and McDonough are irate..a Nova Scotia Con M.P. is tossed from caucus...they will be forced into the "Atlantica" agreement where good old yankee knowhow will teach `em how the entrepreneurial free enterprise democratic capitalist system works. How to pull themselves up by the bootstraps.
Reliance on Jesus rather than government.
Gordos neo/lib..not a lot of the Jesus stuff with Gord.
These guys all see human rights stuff as poofter lefty bleeding heart malarkey.
If the laws were written by poofters..they don`t really count...
I think PeteL is right..the Courts are beginning to see the rule of law under threat...there are no balancing factors..all the money and power are lined up on the one narrow idealogical side...and they have declared war on the middle and working class....right batman?
We are in a revolution of and by the right..

An objective look

Without trying to cause trouble, we have to dispassionately look at this issue.

Firstly, all contracts can be broken or renegotiated. This idea some of you have of honour and sanctity of contracts is more suitable to Biblical concepts rather than how govts and individuals need to behave to protect and serve their own interests. It is senseless to honour a contract that will endanger you or cause you grievous or fatal financial loss. It is better for both sides that it is renegotiated to suit the situation so that it can be honoured in the long run.

It's a balance of power issue; when faced with a stronger counterparty like the govt, it's better to renegotiate. The Supreme Court decision won't change much. I wouldn't expect all jobs and wages to be reinstated. Like it or not, there wasn't and is not much public sympathy on the side of the HEU. The heady days of Solidarity are lost in the mists of the past.

Firstly, all contracts can be broken or renegotiated.

Not arbitarily by one party, without consultation with the other........

Try breaking or renegotiating a mortgage with the bank, without telling them......

Breaking Contracts

I see you mention renegotiating, that was not done with HEU. We did not win our wages back. That was Bill 37 took our wages away. So the privite 99 year contract with CN rail can be ripped up? Maybe every government contract should be renegotiated after every election then. If people take the time to find the facts of what privitization is costing for poorer service they would see there were no cost savings. If cost savings was really the excuse management levels would not be getting hefty raises. Contracts are negotiated in good faith. Campbell said before election he would honour our contracts. He got punished for being wrong. Will we get back to where we were before Bill 29? I doubt it but we did show him we will not just turn the other cheek to be slapped.

Adam West

Hope you never land in a hospital more hopefully not one like mine with privitization and see the reality. You would get the same treatment as others because we are professionals and treat all equally. We are put at many risks on our jobs. Both getting infected by patients and physical or violet. But yes that job in your eyes ina pitiful job and derves pennies for pay. If it is such a good job for the wages we get and things are beter wtih changes implemented why the shortage of staff?

The Cost

It says in the corporate Vancouver paper today that the passing and removal of Bill 29 will cost the taxpayers ONE BILLION DOLLARS!!! If this mistake is not proof of incompetence what is proof? How the heck did Gordo go ahead with this stupid plan without regard for the consequences? I dare any neo-con out three to ever bring up the fast ferries again. This makes that look like an accounting error. ONE BILLION DOLLARS!!! Think of what this money would have meant to the disabled of this province and housing for the homeless. What more proof does the public need to get this failure out of office?

"free enterprise"

Some posters here seem to feel that certain groups of citizens are not entitled to protection of their livelihood.
When does this differentiation begin? Do we look at babies in a nursery and judge which one should have a “good life” and which one should go without?
Does it have to do with which one excels at school, meaning that only super smart kids should have a decent income?
Or does it have to do with which employer a person happens to get hired by? Meaning that if you are hired by a friend of the family, then you have it made?
Do we assume that anyone who is struck with some illness or disability automatically becomes less qualified?
Do we assume that anyone working for the government in any capacity, has a job for life?
Or that anyone joining a union, always wind up with more pay and job security?

There are a lot of assumptions floating around out there, perhaps this case shows that those who “have made it” have no regard for those who were less fortunate!

People form unions and associations in order to protects the only asset they have: Their ability to perform a certain type of work!

They have acquired skills and experiences that make them suitable for those jobs, no matter how poor those jobs may seem to society as a whole.

They have invested their time and effort to get there, just as Engineers and Doctors have. That investment is recognized and rewarded by most employers.

The solidarity is what protect them from the rip-off employers who would underbid on jobs and underpay to still make a profit.

That is why contracts are so important! A person only has one life to offer, and once employed it is a risk that the employer, for instance, get gobbled up by some conglomerate and the job “outsourced”.

Job protection is perhaps the most important item ever negotiated, and frequently workers accept a sacrifice on the monetary front in order to secure that they still will have a job next year!

So, when any employer tries to break a signed contract it calls for a united front! Solidarity may sound like some Communist idea, but in reality it is a fight for one's existence!

We have all witnessed how the building trades have been invaded by fast-buck operators, and “pretend-unions” have been established! We have also seen that new buildings may develop problems, something that never was happening before these fast-buck operators started!

On the HEU issues it is equally clear that we no longer can take it for granted that the hospitals are cleaned properly, Norwalk virus has proven that!

On the P3 projects we have seen that fast-buck operators now have a field-day and overruns are common.
The conclusion is that we have a government that encourages “free enterprise” with all of its drawbacks, and in fact will break contracts to give their friends an even better profit margin.

Objective?

Of course contracts can be broken and agreements can be thrown out the window...that's why we have courts.

And that's why we have a Charter and a Constitution so that politicians who get the wind in their sails can be brought back down to eath.

The real question here is why the Attorney General - who is the chief law officer for this government - has not yet spoken out.

Perhaps the government, when it created Bill 29 in the first place, moved despite legal advice to the contrary...

We have had a government in this province that has behaved arrogantly and badly and the chickens are coming home to roost. Speak to citizens who live outside the Lower Mainland and you'll quickly grasp what I'm saying.

Campbell should resign or call an election - the people no longer have any confidence in him and his government's competence.

Simple.

Its been an interesting interchange

It has been beneficial to have adamwest's comments. It does appear he reflects the responses to the SCC decision we see and will see from the Liberals.

My apologies if my summary misses any salient points, but what we see is the ongoing tendency to blame a prior government (the NDP made me do it); the court is liberal and activist; isn't B.C. doing well.

Notably, NONE of these arguments address the issue which is that the Liberals breached the Charter rights of a large number of workers. THAT is a FACT. The consequence has been the extraordinary degradation of living standards for these people, chaos within the system and the deterioration of quality care (as we have seen particularly with private sector long term care providers).

Looking back at the Adamwest defence, the points do not stand up to scrutiny. The contracts gutted by the Liberals were not "NDP agreements", but had been developed through many sets of bargaining. The wages had in fact been depressed BY the NDP through the PSEC "wage guidelines" limiting increases.

This SCC is anything but liberal and activist. It has become conservative to the point this decision came as a surprise to all involved. It is interesting but can only be understood as a reaction to how egregious the Campbell government's actions were.

The "booming" B.C. economy is a matter of perspective. It is a complex question, but certain facts come to the surface. First, the boom is mostly built on three legs - whopping public spending, much of which does not add to the underlying strength of the economy (see Olympics and related spending), high prices for raw resources (made more attractive by eased environmental and regulatory rules) and the continuing low interest rates (with the accompanying real estate bubble).

Half of B.C.ers feel they have not benefited from the "boom". There are rapidly deteriorating sectors like forestry. Homelessness is growing out of control. I could go on....the fact is that B.C. has lost its soul and the government continues to show its colours - it sees its role as simply supporting its capitalist friends.

Adamwest asks would we prefer the NDP managing the situation. The answer is obvious - yes.

Useful

I agree Munroe..the adamwest character has provided useful commentary.. he has provided a clear look into the B.C. corporate capitalist mindset...your analysis and summation of his " argument" is right on.

The Looney Libertarian/Darwinian right of Gordo (Gordonistas) is dead set on removing what they perceive as " this sense of entitlement" that has been instilled in the B.C. populace with the years of "Socialist" nanny state coddling... frivolous things like Health Care ..Public Education
Transit..Environment..

A question about B.C. Rail and unions (unions ba-a-ad!)

Grumpy wrote:

This has serious implications for government, as who ever rules can make past civil law void. CN Deal; MLA's pensions; P-3's void!

Grumpy's comment echoes a question that keeps coming to my mind. There were unresolved strikes on B.C. Rail in the lead-up to the 2001 election of the Gordon Campbell regime.

We've often asked ourselves why this government would want to sell such a public asset.

Well ... maybe because this would invalidate the collective agreements between the railway unions and the old B.C. Rail?

Just asking. Anybody know??

BC Mary makes a good point

Hello, Mary; That is a very good question, since a great many of the unorthodox behaviours of this government were clearly aimed at harming certain unions.

However, even more of their oddities were about placing public assets and regulatory authority into certain private hands.

The conventional wisdom would seem to be that this has been an ideologically driven festival of looting, illicitly transferring tax paid values to contributors. But how would you prove such a thing either way? What would the answer look like?

If your speculation were correct, it would reduce the enormous harm done by these people from a clever betrayal of all democratic principles and duties on behalf of Enron style international billionaire criminals to a simple tantrum on a level with any two year old kicking whoever was saying no to him.

Watching the faces of the talking heads the Liberals have been putting in front of cameras the last two days, I could almost believe it.

Remeber the Upcoming Election

First of all re: adamwest. Whoever you are, you must get a real thrill or feeling of power yanking so many chains! Or are you truly that narrow-minded and mean-spirited? If you staunchly support the BC Liberals as you appear to, then the latter must surely be true. I, too, have followed BC politics since 1970 when I moved here from a province to the east. I have witnessed many "ups and downs" in labour union/governemnt disagreements and negotiations. In fact, I worked in both the private and public sectors of this province for over 30 years and NEVER experienced the total lack of respect that this government has shown for the working people of this province. This is not the first time this government's attempt to destroy collective bargaining has been shot down. It happened a few years ago in the world courts when the teachers challenged contractual interference. This government chose to ignore the ruling because they deemed that the court had no jurisdiction over their provincial contracts.

Beyond this latest HEU ruling, let's not forget the myriad of changes that this government enacted in the Labour Laws soon after gaining power. 12 year old's allowed and encouraged to go to work! My God! This is Canada in the 21st century! Changes to number of hours worked in a week, starting wages, etc., etc. This government from the get-go has not governed; it has ruled. It has not worked for the betterment of all the people in this province but for the mega-corporations and a few cronies.

adamwest, I don't know where you live, but I challenge you to tour around this province and speak directly with those of us who live in the so-called "Heartland" of B.C. We have had our infrastructure, hospitals, schools and our social fabric ripped to shreds, all in the name of greed and control by an oligarchy led by Gordon Campbell. The next election is our only hope because it seems adequately clear that none of the current Liberal MLA's have the courage or desire to stand up for what is right and fair for all of BC's constituents. Furthermore, if contracts are so unimportant and worthless, perhaps we could try ripping up some of the contracts that pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in severance packages to government lackies who are fired or move on to other, more lucrative positions.

Let's all remember this in the next provincial election. Choose people who will work for and represent their constituents' needs and wishes, people who will not always vote the "party line", people who have the courage and integrity to stand up and do what's right. What a refreshing change it would be!

unburdened by conscience

Mary:

I know Joy McPhail was kicking around selling B.C. Rail during the N.D.P. government years but bowed to the Public opposition to the idea. I never could figure why she had entertained the idea.

Isn`t the sale of B.C. Rail all about the considerable lands and properties that B.C. Rail possessed?

Since the sale of B.C. Rail and the closing of the Woodfibre Pulpmill Condo development here in Squamish has just exploded. Most seem to be being bought as investment from outside...not many locals can afford them.

BC Mary

Near as I can understand, when a unionized company is bought, it also buys whatever contracts are in effect at the time. Bill 29 specifially exempted Healthcare from this requirement, which is why the Supreme Court kicked it out. So I would say collective agreements with BC Rail would have still held..........

But hey.....a lawyer I am not!

to BC Mary

RickW isn't a lawyer...maybe that explains why he is correct (although the healthcare issue is a bit more complicated as the attack by Bill 29 was not only on Code rights but also on provisions existing in the existing collective agreements).

Let's elect them.

However one may cheer the Court's decision, one can hardly fault the government for passing legislation which--at the time--was consistent with the Charter. The government was relying on what the Court had affirmed repeatedly, that the Charter has no application to the labour relations regime. Now the Court has decided to throw out 25 years of jurisprudence, because it concluded after the fact that its previous decisions could "not withstand principled scrutiny".

Wow.

"Tomorrow we will decide that what was legal yesterday is illegal today, without a change in the laws, even though we assured you repeatedly that you were acting legally."

Lawyers in this country have been scratching their heads for years at the intellectual weakness of many of the Court's decisions. Now it's the Court itself that is saying, "we weren't too bright".

I guess the fundamental law of the land is whatever the Court decides on a given day, irrespective of what it may have ruled in the past. Whatever happened to certainty in the law?

How many other strands of Charter jurisprudence can't "withstand principled scrutiny"????

If justice is flavour of the month, maybe we should be electing our justices.

Perhaps you might permit me to quote the following:

Per McLachlin C.J. and Bastarache, Binnie, LeBel, Fish and Abella
JJ:

Which, Percy, more eloquently addresses your words and implication than anything I might myself be able to say.

Nothing NEW about this stuff.

Sorry, Percy

Simply because the Liberal's believed Bill 29 fit the narrow definition of "legal" is not justification for something that was wrong and immoral. Evidently, we know now it was not "legal" either.

Your comment on elcting judges is illogical. If you want you see what is legal changing the whim of the perceived political culture - elect judges.

The heighth of hypocrisy

The heighth of hypocrisy says Adamwest.
Political protest is legal in this province so what are you talking about. If they had a collective agreement at the time they went out and paid a price in lost wages and fines. Should we many hang them all?Political protests were around before there were unions. It's no fun having an injunction being read to someone who knows that if they refuse to obey it, it's going to be time in the slammer complete with a fine. But people do it when they are being dealt a rotten deal by a rotten government

For the pro Bill 29ers

There is a lot of misconception out there regarding our wages. A lot of this is thanks to Gordon and the media. I still remember Gordon talking about our 45 days holidays. I wish I got 45 days holidays.
The Supreme court admonished the Liberals for not consulting with HEU first. Consultation does work. Back when we got the job security included as a benefit in our contract it was through consult and negotiation. The then government NDP told us there was no money for raises. So we negotiated. We said ok we give up raises but what will we get in return? We got job security. We basically work for less because COLA always rises and for doing that we know we have a job. Job security was not handed to us easily on a golden platter that so many make it sound. The problem is the Liberals only want to take from the poor to give to the rich. Notice management levels and higher never take cutbacks instead they get healthy raises.
HEU is not just made up of housekeepers and food services workers, that so many think were overpaid compared to private sector. Well now they working for private sector rates and let me tell you the quality really fell. We had to sign a confidentiality report at work before private contracted workers came in. If service is so much better why gag order us?
HEU is also made up of many highly trained and professional individuals. LPNs, ECG techs, Pharmacy techs, Lab techs and the list goes on. All of these are people you trust and respect when in hospital. All these people are needed.
If our wages and benefits are so attractive all with the greatest working conditions why do we hear almost daily in the news of shortages. Why do I get called almost daily to work overtime? Yes overtime can help make up my wage loss. No one should have to work overtime though to pay bills. Overtime should be optional and used for little extras in life. We work stressful jobs and it is important to have time off from our place of work.
I would love for the pro Bill 29ers to go to a stressful workplace such as ours and wonder what will the Liberals do to my contract tomorrow? Will I have a job tomorrow? Our jobs have enough stress without that. Same time as we are being told to do more with less the management team grows as does their wages.

Political Protest

Political protest or our illegal strike as some like to call it was to Bill 37. First we were slapped with Bill 29 then along came Bill 37. First rip up our contract take out job security the reason we had worked years with no raises then slap us with Bill 37 and cut our wages. If you remember it was also going to be retroactive at first so that when Bill 37 came down we all owned our employers money. You slap the laying dog only so long then he stands up and fights back. We did that. The courts found us wrong we were punished. We honoured the courts ruling and paid the fines. Now the Liberals have been told they are wrong can they do the same now and pay the price?

Maybe the Court should resign....

The problem, G West, is that all the legal advice available to the government at the time would have indicated that the Supreme Court had clearly and consistenly ruled since the Charter's inception that it had no application to the labour relations regime.

It's the Court which has suddenly ruled that its previous decisions would "not withstand principled scrutiny". Maybe the Court should resign, if it cannot deliver consistent decisions, or tell us on any given day what the Charter means.

We can cheer this decision (as I do), while fearing for the state of justice at the hands of unelected lawmakers who admit they cannot get it right any given time.

Principle

I point out, Percy, that something that cannot withstand principled scrutiny, may be presumed to have been unprincipled.

Further, the past fifty years or so have witnessed a growing and repeated tendency of the powerful to disregard basic principle: to lobby, bribe, and blackmail, to lie cheat and accept very large compensation for very little value. Governments in many countries have fallen, exposed as unprincipled. Courts have been packed, regulatory bodies nobbled virtually all over the map.

If the supreme court says unprincipled, perhaps they are in a position to know what they are saying, the proper use of words being so much of what they do.

Please read carefully, Bailey...

Bailey, the Court was referring to its own jurisprudence, not to the actions of government. You rightly point out that such a discovery affects the credibility of the institution in question. But that institution is the Court.

But yesterday they said....

But, G West, the Court is merely asserting that what it said in all its previous decision on the subject was uninformed. That's the point.

Quoting the court

"We conclude that the grounds advanced in the earlier decisions for the exclusion of collective bargaining from the Charter’s protection of freedom of association do not withstand principled scrutiny and should be rejected."

Oh You know that for a fact PERCY?

WHY do you think there has been no statement from the AG on this matter?

The fact is that this government has been, from the beginning, not willing to listen to the legal advice it has received from its advisors - someone should certainly resign - but not the justices of the Supreme Court.

You might want to do a little research into the facts surrounding the Crown Counsel Act and the Cabinet-rejected BINDING arbitration over a certain pay agreement for Crown Counsel - the one that the Attorney General at the time - Geoff Plant - gave advice to members of the Executive Council concerning. Advice that was not followed.

You can check it out.
“They hear what they want to hear and disregard the rest"

The institution whose credibility is in tatters is the Government of Gordon Campbell.

Pay careful attention to the actual words of the Crown Counsel Act and please, don't forget to investigate a certain law suit that was dropped earlier this year after an out of court settlement.

Your principle

Dear Percy;

Did you ever do anything that wouldn't stand up to principled scrutiny? Anything that, on second or third thought might have become an occasion for regret?

Never let yourself be persuaded by argument that you later found specious? Or perjured? Or just plain bullshit?

Percy, Percy, Percy, Most people, even you probably, are principled. Mostly. They try hard to do what's best for their own, for them that depend on them. To live up to their own principles. It isn't always easy.

But the test of principle is easy. When you mess things up, do you stand up and try to fix your problem? Admit your mistake? Retrace your steps and try to find your path again?

If you do, then you are not someone who should be asked to resign. Quite the contrary, Percy old chum.

It would be useful

if everyone would review all of the SCC decisions. The freedom to associated has developed. While the SCC stopped short of bringing collective bargaining under the rights' umbrella, it certainly has signalled the right of workers to combine for a common purpose. The logical extension of this is with the contract. If workers have the right to combine and bargain collectively, then the PRODUCT of bargaining, the collective agreement deserves protection as well.

When you consider how vigorously property rights are protected and the rights under commercial contracts, it is actually hard to see how the contractual rights of workers have taken a second seat. At least for redress workers' organizations had an avenue and that avenue in this case was the Charter.

Can you imagine the outcome if a private employer simply and unilaterally declared parts of a contract, labour or commercial, was void? The weight of the law would come to bear heavily on that person. I find it amazing that the Liberals believed they were somehow above the law and could take exactly this action. Offensive is an understatement.

As for Bailey's point that the government had "all the legal advice" defending its position, I'll ake two points. I don't deny it sought and received legal advice, but that doesn't mean the advice was correct. I noe we have never seen any written advice and are unlikely to given solicitor client privilege. The second point, and flows from the first, is I know some ofthe lawyers this government turns to for labour relations advice. I would not be surprised they endorsed the government's actions - but they have been wrong in other matters and will be wrong on issues in the future. These lawyers are not arms-length fom the decision-making process, nor do they have the independence of the judiciary.

SCC Decision promotes Extortion

The SCC decision is really much to do with nothing. The only issue is that instead of a telephone call, Government must make some effort to negotiate. If the Union refuses to negotiate after all attempts by the Government, then the Government is still able to do the stuff that did to protect service to the people.

The Campbell Government was absolutely correct in its initial legal review, since at the time, no superior legal decision supported the notion of collective negotiation as a right. In fact the SCC revoke its previous decisions applicable to this matter just now.

The issue though is one where Unions cannot dictate to the Crown what the Crown must do. The Crown in finality still has the right to change whatever program as it sees fit no matter what effect such might have on the employees.

If a Union refuses to comply based on economic viability, then as we have seen, private companies can just close down, end of story. In the case of government service other remedies must be established.

Bottom line, Unions are summarily responsible for the ongoing demise of industry in Canada, and it seems that now Unions are hell bent to leather to destroy government services.

Pity.

Adamwest

I have earlier asked you if all government contracts should be treated the same. You chose to keep writing to try and stir us up but you do not answer those questions which do not suit you.
Once I had a hell day in the ER at work. Shortly after Bill 29. I wrote to the Health Minister and asked if he could help me feel better and tell me the plans to improve things with the 15% of my wage. He beat around the bush like you do. Told me Liberals would help me leave Heu and such. He went on to ask me if I really wanted an answer or just more fodder to use against them. "Fodder was his word. Then went on to tell me I could not be trusted. I cannot be trusted because I ask a question of a government that promised to be accountable. If you are not a Liberal you would make a good one as you talk the same way.

Call an election Adamwest - right now.

And you'll see the evidence soon enough.

Whether or not the Liberals will win an election in 2009 is obviously unknown. In all probability they will have a new leader by then but I have no doubt they would lose an election held today.

You might wish to consult this poll, by the way, before you decide you know what you're talking about:
http://www.robbinssceresearch.com/polls/poll_373.html

Poll taken between May 22 and June 2.

I think it's pretty clear that if the Opposition had a different leader right now and the election were held tomorrow that Mr Campbell and his government would be toast.

Realistically, speaking

There may be a perfect storm brewing for the Liberals, but nothing yet suggests an election will occur (or could be forced). This SCC decision will erode confidence in the Liberals, no doubt. If you will recall, Bill 29 and the wage cuts were unpopular generally with BCers. They had faded from the general memory, but now have returned full force.

For the Liberals it comes at a bad time. The Basi/Virk affair is current, has legs and cannot be "stone-wallied" forever. Even if the evidence never gets to court, the taint remains. If we have a case heard (not dismissed for the Crown's shenanigans), it will be high and ongoing drama. If dismissed, then the conclusions will be drawn that there was corruption. The failure of the Liberals to respond now to ancillary issues, not a part of the trial, feeds this.

Don't think the rosy, media-driven Olympic picture will remain. Although the elite have continuously promoted the "good news", the escalating homelessness and rising associated costs (yes Virginia, there is a convention centre) can't be ignored or papered over. Diverting attention from the real issues to the APC tactics works for awhile, but it doesn't stop the festering.

There is so much more. We have a completely failed "forestry industry rejvenation" policy with mass layoffs already occuring. We have highways maintenance that is a joke and people will be travelling this summer. The corporate media may not be reporting on the current strikes, but the public will actually see the impact.

I could go on, but each failure impacts on Gordo's credibility. I don't know the polling firm referred to in a previous posting, but the numbers seem far closer to the general buzz I hear (outside of CKNW and the Vancouver Sun).

The real bubble is real estate. All that is holding back increases in interest rates is the weakness of the US economy with the attendant rise in the loonie. A dampening of our Canadian economy (which is inevitable, if not already happening) will significantly alter the equation. If people are forced to return the keys to their new and over-priced condos, lower mainland Liberals better watch their political backsides. No one will believe they can help once reminded of all the "help" they've been with condos that merely leak.

Two years more of Gordo is a long time to wait, but the storm clouds we are seeing will likely burst in that time.

Give it a chance. The longer this goes, the weaker the Liberals' fortune will be and the weaker they are, the rosier will be B.C.'s long term future. It will take a long time to undo the damage.

I wonder where old sdgreen has been if he thinks that unions are to blame?

Minions upon minions

sdgreen wrote:

Extortion, you say...

Uhh... nope, not at all.... if I remember correctly it was ol' beastly Bill 29, known as Bill 666 in some quarters that was ever so proficient in that regard though.

You got it all wrong sdgreen, what I remember most about the series of public meetings expressing concern over Bill 29 was the oppressive atmosphere at the time. It was a strange and darkly new one for BC. Everyone there felt the invisible hammer that had come down. There was much whispering in dark corners, a fear and reticence to speak out in public...workers felt under seige. And still do I might add.

There were tears in many long time workers' eyes...many of them women whose families counted on them alone for support. They had been given 72 hours to agree to the new "privatized" terms. Agree or...kaput...you're out of work. It was as simple and as ruthless as that.

All of these bullying tactics performed without question or conscience by the faithful minions of this arrogantly cruel government: The Health Authorities. Minions of minions abounded everywhere at the time - bowing, serving, and scraping away to el gordo's greedy gods of privatization.

What a shameful disregard for human rights...one of the most truly disgusting chapters in the history of this province.

These brutal policies of the BC Liberals singled out (among all the provinces in Canada) by the UN as to their devastating effect on women, children and the poor. The recognition of this shameful disregard for both our working rights and the collective bargaining process now echoed by the The Supreme Court of Canada.

Can of worms....

If you read the decision carefully, you'll see that the decision opens the door to protection of property rights. BE REALLY AFRAID. Collective bargaining is a right related to property (in a broad sense), and many of the arguments for its protection also apply to simple freedom of individual contract.

Sometimes making up new rights out of whole cloth can get you a lot more than you bargained for.

Supreme Courts aren't supposed to overule their own decisions because the decisions are, uhm, unpersuasive. Indecision is best left to legislature, Courts have to be certain.

Notwithstanding the learned discussion of labour history contained in the decision, I'm doubtful you would find a labour historian (Irving??) who would state that collective bargaining was a fundamental value throughout our history. That's not to say it's not a great thing, but collective bargaining has never been "fundamental", or ahem, treated very well by laws, courts, or authorities. The Roman Catholic Church historically denounced trade unionism, except in confessional unions which never took off in Canada. Trade union density (% of the workforce covered by a collective agreement) is half what it was 20 years ago, the majority being public sector workers. Most Canadians have never belonged to a trade union. I'm baffled at how it can be a fundamental constitutional value. Labour relations systems are instituted and run by the state, and tinkered with from time to time by the state. That is to say, they are the product of democratic legislative reform, brought on by the will of the people. Through their sovreign legislature. Whom they can vote out if they decide to intrude on those rights.

yeah , yeah blame the unions!

I notice that "we" are back to blaming the unions for industry leaving the country.

How about blaming the shareholders who insist on profit, no matter what the circumstances?

How many major manufactureres have been gobbled up by our greedy neighbours to the south?

It was not a matter of production costs being too high, but of getting the recognized brand-name, patents and specialized machinery.

That spells pure greed on the part of shareholders! They could not care less which country houses the plants as long as dividends keep coming in!

Other reasons I have encountered is the "bean-counters" employed to make best use of taxbreaks:
for instance old Mac&Blow refused to update antique equipment with the reason that the tax breaks for doing so, would not come into effect for another two years!

The fact that it was close to impossible to make replacement parts in a machine shop filled with museum pieces did not seem to count.

So talk about effeciency! It makes no difference how much you pay a machinist, if you do not provide the required machines and tools!

The ball rests with management, our workers are as qualified as anybody, what is needed is less beancounters and other parasites eating the profit away.

Some Companies love the 6

Some Companies love the 6 dollar starting wage. Lower worker safty standards and other cost cutting items. I heard on the news this evening a fellow turned over a large digger machine. First day on the job. He's dead. Maybe a bit more training would cost some bucks but the guy could still be alive. It's known that one large crown corporation had a bomb threat yet didn't tell the workers to evacuated the building IT would have slowed production.
Without hi work standards people die but wach the bottom line is the mantra of the right. Campbell had the power and figured he could do what he wanted. Tearing up cpntracts was one of the first thing he did. One of his clowns, now a front bench Junmior Cabiney worker refered to the fired workers as a bunch of toilet cleaners.Those workers were nothing to those guys. The jerk will suck up to Gordo because Gordo gives him the extra pay. I wonder if Kreuger ever held a job outside of sitting in the ledg.?

Percy says "...The Roman

Percy says "...The Roman Catholic Church historically has denounced trade unionism..." Yeah, ok buddy, if the religious leaders of the previous centuries have backed anything that was not self serving. If they had anything to say women for the most part would still be barefoot and pregnant with just enough education to count her kids and her pennies to put in the collection plate.

Thats precisely why church and state is best seperate.

The facts are this was bad legislation it broke "rules" of the canadain society that previously weren't necessarily written. It broke international treaties/ agreements that Canada had signed on to and brought censor to us. The SCC has demonstrated a reluctance in previous rulings to get involved. I don't think these judges did this lightly. But somebody had to smack their hand and tell them that picking on others is not acceptable behaviour.

There must be limits to legislation

It seems that Percy believes that our leader in government is akin to King James. All hail King Gordon!

This government has been in contempt of the will of the people since it began implementing Draconian measures through disregarding contracts and breaking promises. They have not been following the will of the people nor have they been abiding by the laws of the people: they have been writing their own laws to suit themselves - and they have been unconcerned about the will of the people.

As part of Canada, BC legislators are accountable to the people of Canada as well as the province. The country of Canada signed into international law about how workers should be treated. BC had no unilateral right to ignor those agreements. But King Gordon and his minions believed they were above the minimally accepted values of the United nations, the world. While writing legislation that took away people's rights: to having their contracts' honoured, to assembly, and to strike, the Liberals also reduced question period in the legislature to the point where the government can seemingly spend the entire time avoiding and refusing to answer questions about what they have been doing!

Were they still alive, Kings James and Charles would be proud to know this bunch - though they might question the lineage which gives them devine rights. For without the blood, these rulers be but mongrels.

Percy - read again

from the decision:
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.

The whole property rights fandango is a right-wing American and neo-liberal notion that has virtually no credence in international Human Rights terms. Period.

Nevertheless, if you're prepared to respect and promote true equality and equality of opportunity then let's get busy and start redistributing the PROPERTY that necessary to achieve that objective: Any time you're ready.

Property Rights and the SCC Ruling

Interesting points. The battle in BC re: the Mineral Tenure Act, Mineral Right of Way Act and The Miscellaneous Amendments Act continue to cause problems for private property owners. I wonder if there is a lawyer out there who would be willing to challenge the legality and constitutionality of these laws in court? Gordon Campbell's government has ridden roughshod over property owners and continues to defend these thoughtless, mean-spirited pieces of legislation in the name of corporate control and greed.

I am listening to Bill Good with Bill Tielman and Norman Spector as I type this. Even Norman, a guy noted for his conservative views, speaks about the arrogance of the Gordon Campbell government and the need for challenges in the courts. The courts are our only "salvation" as it sure as h--l isn't going to be rectified by the Liberals. He concurs that that arrogance and a sledge hammer are not the way to run a government. Too bad Gordo isn't listening and probably never will.

Bill, I hope you or someone else on The Tyee will do more research, address the topic on radio talk shows and write more newspaper articles and blogs regarding the above named acts and try to keep the problems front and center. The mega-media boys don't want to cover it just like so many other important issues.

to BC Dude

Check out today's Guardian on line. There's an excellent story about thesourcing of goods for the 2012 Olympics.

TILMA is not the only threat here. Also check out the Vancouver Sun business section and the huge demand for off-shore work permits for temporary workers to meet the "labour shortage" in the so-called hospitality industry. If the industry can't be out-sourced, let's bring the labour advantage here...but only temporarily, 'cause the workers will be less "employer dependent and will do what the boss says without complaint.

For those who are entranced by the "market" and Smith's "invisible hand", you can see it only works to increase riches for those who have. If the markets dictate higher wages and better training, the same Ayn Rand ethusiasts can only look to increase their low wage labour "pool".

I predict the "urgency" for temporary work permits will now only increase. Can't have collective bargaining recognised as a right of association and expect Canadians not to actually believe in collective action.

Premier

I just heard the premiers comment on the news about Bill 29 as I understand it he still considers his bill just and will not declare a moratoreum on firings and seems to not recognize thJudgement as just. Does this mean he is declaring the Supreme Court Irrelevant?

Cost of Settlement

There was question raised here how much it would cost to settle this. Well Gordon Campbell seems not to care. He fully intends to take the full year and court battles if neccessary. Also he plans to continue laying off workers. If there is a settlement for laid off workers it seems the amount will only grow. Oh well Gordon is a bully and why not continue to be a bully and put the little gal in her place with tax payers money. It is not coming out of his pocket after all.
Would it not make more sense to put layoffs on hold until this was settled? Really in the big picture to wait a year to lay off if somehow he can prove he is in the right, that long to wait? The battle is only begun. As a proud member of HEU I will fully being encouraging this battle to go the end and hopefully to an election issue.

Democratic Victory

First of all, let me state how elated I am with this ruling. More than anything, it shows us that the system works and a contract is a contract. This kind of case is what Harper calles "judicial activism" and I am sure he (and many other politicians) would love to be able to overturn Supreme Court decisions. We owe a lot to Pierre Trudeau's legacy for that.

The government made a big mistake with Bill 29. Glen gave all his union buddies (and masters) sweetheart deals on his way to the docket and didn't fund them, hoping to get votes for his party. In doing so, he made the supreme error that the BC NDP constantly makes: preaching to the choir. It didn't do the party any good anyway.

G West, this is one of the few occassions I am complete agreement with you. Carlole James couldn't will election as a bake sale monitor. With a new leader, the NDP could stand a good chance of forming a government or actually being an effective opposition, which it is not. However, this would need the NDP to actually ask itself this question:

"What did we do to lost the last election, how did our leader's role play in that loss and how can we alter our platform to win the next election?"

I doubt the NDP in this province is capable of such soul searching. It certainly hasn't happened since the 2005 defeat. Inasmuch, it looks like Campbell will sail to an even easier victory than he had in 2005.

Campbell acknowledge any

Campbell acknowledge any thing? He still insists that he didn't sell BCRail he just "leased" it.He had to break contracts because of the NDP but never mentions the 2 billion give away right after 2001. He claimed to have found a 5 billion dollar "structural deficit" but the auditor generals' report from Feb/02 contradicted this. Those bright lights took all weekend to craft up a 6yr olds defence.

the after effects of the ruling

And so the reaction from the other unions affected by the Liberals' rampage that fateful week begins. This is a BCTF Staff Alert.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 8, 2007
A victory for workers’ rights
“The Supreme Court of Canada has issued one of the most important decisions in
Canadian labour history by declaring, for the first time, that collective bargaining
rights are protected by the Charter of Rights,” says Jinny Sims, President of the BC
Teachers’ Federation (BCTF). “It’s a major victory for workers’ rights in Canada.”
The BCTF was granted intervener status in this case and its arguments played a
substantial role in the court’s precedent-setting decision. BCTF president Jinny Sims
says, “This ruling serves notice that the BC Liberals can no longer impose laws to
suit their own needs, rather than the needs of the public they serve. Today, workers
throughout Canada have been given assurances that their right to bargain a collective
agreement is enshrined in the charter and cannot be taken apart at the whim of
government.”
Sims says the BCTF joins the Hospital Employees’ Union in calling for a
moratorium on the layoffs that are currently under way in the healthcare sector. “Bill
29 was bad legislation and the government must stop the layoff of healthcare
workers.”
This latest legal ruling against the BC government proves the Liberals intentionally
interfered with the right of employees in the collective bargaining process. “This
government is no friend of the labour movement,” says Sims, “the Supreme Court of
Canada joins the International Labour Organization in pointing out the legal
inadequacies of BC’s legislation. It’s time the Campbell Liberals begin to repair the
damage they have inflicted on Canada’s reputation through their flaunting of
domestic and international labour laws.”
The Supreme Court of Canada ruling overturns earlier rulings that excluded
collective bargaining from charter protection. In today’s decision, the court found
that, “previous rulings do not withstand principles scrutiny and should be rejected.”
The BCTF is studying the ruling to look at the impact it will have on the teaching
profession.

Victory for Democracy

I see this ruling as a true victory for democracy and rule of law, in that a contract is a contract.

G West, I agree with you on most points. However, we wil not see an election until May of 2009 as we have fixed election dates.

"I think it's pretty clear that if the Opposition had a different leader right now and the election were held tomorrow that Mr Campbell and his government would be toast."

I also agree with you on this point, too. The problem is Carole James couldn't win an election as a bake sale monitor. The NDP in this province should do some real soul searching and ask itself this question:

"Why did we lose the last two elections hands down? What have we done wrong and what can we do better?"

Unfortunately, I don't see that the BC NDP is capable of doing this and Campbell will sail into another victory in 2009.

Working Man care to list in

Working Man care to list in detail the sweetheart deals you mention? You know: the union, the excessive raises, those special perks that make them so sweet. Because as an HEU member I'd sure like to hear it. Let me tell you what the actual 2001 contract was 1.5%/2.0/1.5 or COL whichever was greater. The previous two were 0/0/0.

When I was hired back in 1989 kitchen worker wages were just over $10 p/hr when privatized just over $16. Thats about 15yrs.
In 15yrs, think about how much every things cost from housing to food, gas,insurance has increased and then lets think about all the addition taxes since then the GST, federal and provincial of all sorts. So please explain to me how these wages are so sweet.

People will say just about

People will say just about anything to get elected and then watch out. The Liberals did it with free trade, we still have free trade. Mulrohny was against free trade. he brought it in. We have to start knowing about our wanaby leaders long before we vote. Campbell was well know when he first got on Vancouver City council. He ended up mayor and some strange things started to happen. He tried so hard to be the voice of moderation, a lot of folks were mad at the NDP and look who ended up premier. Two in the opposiiton, a couple of days later all hell broke loose after he told the folks we had a structural defecit and needed to clean house. There was no defecit but nobody was listening.Gordo got thumped by the Supreme Court but being Gordo he will fight with our money to argue he is right. In his mind he is always right. I used to shudder when I heard unionized folks tell me they just had to vote Socred and now Liberal and look who gets kicked first. wake up folks.

Can the BC Lib party be fined for this?

I do not want to have to spend BC tax payer money on this.
Shouldn't the BC lib party be fined?
They are the ones that ran the law ragged.
So the party should be fined.

Listen, to those people on

Listen, to those people on this blog that think the Nurses have a soft job. They the Nurses have one of the toughest jobs and not everyone can do it holding someone's hand as they pass away, having to tell loved ones that one of family has passed away, cleaning up body waste, getting yelled at by some idiot, asked to work a double shift. They are worth every cent plus much more ($35-40 an hr) as they work 12-18 hour shifts 6-7 days a week putting up with some people who think Nurses are their little slaves. I know because I've been looked after many times (29 years as a Quadriplegic) and as far as I'm concerned 99% of them are like Angels when you are on deaths doodway or anytime!
If you,ve ever watched ER that's close, but not realtime ER.
Thank you to all RN's everywhere, I'll back you up anytime, along with my family! COME ON BC WE CAN BEAT THIS evil gang!

Way to go BC Dude

I once saw a cemetery marker that I won't forget anytime soon . It said

DON'T MORN
ORGANIZE
Sorry for using capitals but it's the way to get things changed.
Another old favourite by I think the Anachists
TALK minus ACTION equals ZERO.

See you well before the election. We have to turf a group when one of the senior guys referred to 7 thousand workers as Toilet Cleaners , so obviously they were of little value to the system

Overpaid?

I'm looking at two union contracts for 2001. One, for 2001 for the Health Services and Support Facilities Subsector (hospitals) showing wages paid for housekeepers at $17.58/hr. And the other for hotels such as Coast Whistler, Sandmans, Ramadas, Best Westerns (certainly not the top tier) showing the housekeepers making $14.61 - $15.78/hr depending on facility.

After the 15% "voluntary give-back", that hospital wage was reduced to $14.95/hr. Still it wasn't enough. Facilities had to contract-out, and new wages ($10.60/hr and up) haven't been enough to attract dedicated talent. All the contractors are continuously hiring and training new people, most of whom soon leave.

I bet most of them end up in hotels.

Zalm thanks for the info as

Zalm thanks for the info as to what a similar but definitely not equivilent outside cleaning job pays. I think I'm too close as I still mourn the loss of many of my former co workers. And I feel for those employeed by the contract companies. As munroe pointed I have a nasty bite when I feel provoked. Hence the nickname "pitbull"- I freely admit I've earned it. Which is why I use it.

Anyways, what alot of these apologists, especially the ones from the Fraser Institute, seem to forget is that you tip for your service in hotels... maybe they believe we should institute it in our hospitals. The contractors might be able keep the staff they spend time and money training and their workers might be able to survive on one jobs income instead of walking around looking like zombies while working two.

Heard Tom Sanborn omn with

Heard Tom Sanborn omn with the Cheerleader Smyth; Very good Tom. However after you left he went on about how they were sweetheart deals that had to be done away with. One caller who he semed to agree with said that the reason the hospitals weren't as clean was the 8000 were hired back and were just not good workers. Well not all 8000 were hired back and the private contractors were using less people to do the same work. He does love to hide the facts and never question what is said as long as it is cheers for Gordo and his henchmen.

compensation?

"People generally conduct their affairs based on their understanding of what the law requires. Governments in this country are no different. Every law they pass or administrative action they take must be performed with an eye to what the Constitution requires. Just as ignorance of the law is no excuse for an individual who breaks the law, ignorance of the Constitution is no excuse for governments. But where a judicial ruling changes the existing law or creates new law, it may, under certain conditions, be inappropriate to hold the government retroactively liable."
Canada (Attorney General) v. Hislop, 2007 SCC 10, para 103

Seems that Gordo might weasel out of paying compensation if this applies!

However, the federal government did compensate for the Chinese Headtax imposed a long time ago, even if that was constitutional at the time!

Let us see how much they value the union workers this time around?

That's just not true mcdull.

That's just not true mcdull. smyth rips the gov't as much as he commends them. Perhaps you need to listen a little more objectively. The truth is that they were sweetheart deals. How much more proof do you need than the NDP's own finance minister saying they were unaffordable. It was politics, pure and simple, and the fruits of the NDP's labour are now being harvested. I'm giving them credit for having some foresight, even though it was a desperate and despicable act. Isn't politics nasty?

Aduhm West says ....

"... How much more proof do you need than the NDP's own finance minster saying the were unaffordable. It was politics; pure and simple...

Yeah, politics, well since you put it that way -NOT- I'd actually like to read the full excerpt were your quote comes from 'cause editting has a way of changing the words coming out of peoples' mouths.

Also don't know what kind of personal gratuities would have come his way, if any, but I'm sure people have been sold out more than a few times for a few pitiful crumbs...

I'm with the Pitbull

I have never seen the report nor heard an interview whereby Ramsay said the NDP made deals that were unaffordable. I believe the deals became difficult to afford after the Liberals reduced taxes while at the same time increasing user fees. In essence, the Liberals gave the rich a tax break and reduced the wages for the poor and working class people. Even the minimum wage that had been in place for some time was reduced, while big contracts (that were no cheaper than if kept in house) were handed out to companies providing cleaning, laundry and food services for hospitals. The quality of work/services that the private contractors have provided is worse. Therefore, everyone requiring these services (rich and poor alike) have paid prices more dear than the money they claim to have saved.

Some people forget that before Campbell got in power, the NDP had implemented years of fiscal restraint. For the 10 years previous to the Campbell regime, none of the public sector salaries and wages had kept up with inflation. Most public sector employees were due for a raise, and Campbell knew it going in - but he did not care. Also, there had been much cost-cutting and integration of resources/services during the NDP years - they had been streamlining the system for years. Further, the NDP were actually keeping the infrastructure maintained. It is now June, the highway workers in my region have not been on strike, and the provincial highway I use to get to work still has last winter's potholes - the biggest potholes we have ever seen in my region, because they didn't patch and seal the cracks last summer! The roads still have last winter's sand and gravel all over the bicycle lanes, making it too dangerous for the ecology-minded to ride their bikes.

Waiting for four years

As an ex-HEU member, union Shop Steward and Occupational Health and Safety Committee member - and dare I say, Housekeeping worker for fourteen years, I spent years trying to ensure that HEU members had a safe and equitable place to work. This was all erased by Gordon and his henchmen. It's now four years since my layoff, I'm working several jobs just trying to keep ahead of my bills and keep food on the table. Often I work up to ten days in a row just to keep my head above water. I did go back and take some upgrading - unfortunatly I can't say much very possitive occured from the nine months of being in school. I ended up accepting a job (non-union) where people were snapping and gossiping about each other in the workplace, non-stop and the employer knew about this ridiculous rotating door of activity..... Needless to say, I'm VERY pleased to hear of the Supreme Court's ruling, but assume that it will be another five years before I even see one red cent of money or an offer to return to the workplace. There are too many unanswered questions at this point for me to even consider returning; would that be at my old payrate or the contractors new pay rate of $10.50 per hour. Would the contractors employees then become the new "laid off workers of the healthcare system" and could they turn around and take their employer to the Supreme Court? Way too many of us gave up too much in this fight, I've stood in rainy picket lines, and been very active to protect workers. One would hope that the gov't (tho not likely) would realize that providing low wage workers as "toilet cleaners" (security and food service workers) were important job(s), otherwise you wouldn't have the rampant infection control problems (frozen dinners and lack of safety) you now do - and with the all round shortage of workers, the employer wouldn't have to go thru temp agencies and the like to fill long empty positions in the healthcare system. Those that feel relatively safe staying in the system continue to fight the fight for the rest of us, with spirit and determination. Others who've long been laid off have moved on, not always successfully, but have no real want to return to a system that is so systemically disfunctional that it needs a huge overhaul to fix all the problems. Show me the money Gordo and lets hope that it's worth the five years I've struggled and some how addresses the rollercoaster ride I and other HEU members have been through.

more contract breaking

Thank you marneelarson, for giving us a glimpse of how your life was upset by this government.

In spite of this ruling, we learned today that people who pre-bought houses at that Riverbend project, have lost their right to have their legally signed binding contracts accepted!

The houses in question will now be sold at "current market values", and the original buyers would now have to fork over a lot more money, if they still can qualify?

All in all, this society disregards time honoured traditions, to the benefit of entrepenours.

If a businessman does not have the brains to make provisons for inflation, maybe he deserves to loose his investment, why should it be the innocent purchasers who takes the beating?

Contracts

Let us remember those are the same BC courts that ruled in favour of Bill 29 originally.

marneelarson

I am a HEU member, a LPN, so I am still in the system. I can tell you the in house food services and housekeeping in dearly missed. I often think of those I worked along side and wonder how they make out. I am so sorry to hear of your struggle and know so many others are in the same boat. It was hard enough to take the 15% cut but would be even harder to lose my job. My prayers are with you and hope somehow this small victory at the beginning of a long battle can help you some.

Adam West

The BC Fiberals were not set up. Vaughn Palmer's article is the one you want, and it makes no mention of gordo being "set up" by Paul Ramsey, or anybody else. Palmer expressly says how the NDP and HEU provided news release after news release on what their aims were, and what it would cost (about $400 million) to achieve pay parity for all female workers in just a few short years.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=2b85c5d9-58d6-4199-9413-518988bf59be

When the HEU fought for their contract, they were trying to get women's wages up to the same level as men's tradesman's wages. It's not something I agreed with, but it's where the HEU's constituency lay, and they made no bones about it, so anybody who wanted to vote against it was welcome.

I was in the IUOE at the time, and we voted against it, but were out-voted. Prior to 1989, when the HEU began to win some "pay equity" battles, female "toilet cleaners" were making about $3 an hour less than male "stores clerks" or "floor polishers". And it was kind of hard to justify that kind of nonsense.

Unfortunately, HEU also sacrificed the trades on their altar of pay equity, so eventually trades ended up making only $2 an hour more than cleaners at one point, when for more than 9 years, the only raises were $0.25 across the board every third year. THat was about $6 less than unionized private industry at the time. This is why HEU lost some of their native support, and is mistrusted by their skilled workers, even today. It is also why they lost their highly skilled people such as some computer techs, and all biomeds.

They also lost my respect. Especially Zorica Bosancic, who spared no effort to slag trades and skilled workers in her effort to achieve parity for cleaners with nearly everyone else.

This is all stuff Palmer didn't mention, because it didn't make his story nice and simple. Unfortunately, he was all too aware of it, because I and several others, from IUOE, Carpenters, Steelworkers and the Maintenance and Trades Association told him so in several letters. He chose to ignore that when writing his columns.

Palmer was not a shill for the Fiberals, but neither was he a patsy for the HEU. Don't cherry-pick your muich-vaunted political history. Give us all the facts.

Incidentally...

...Palmer refers to $1.3 billion in public sector compensation increases. That was for all 140,000 public sector employees, not just 42,000 hospital employees. It amounted to about $300 million a year or $2100 per year per employee. Not an insignificant sum, but not a lottery win, either, and certainly not comparable to MLAs, who were paid 110% more than the average industrial wage in BC during that time.

...for (mostly) ordinary people, doing ordinary work. (Can you tell? I 'm not a big fan of paying public lawmakers excessively. That's because I mostly don't value the work they do, except as PR.)

And this increase brought the average wage of HEU emloyees, skilled and unskilled but just over the average industrial wage of the time, which was $16.91 per hour.

Not exactly a gravy train, considering their wages was what kept a lot of car dealers and real estate salespersons in business over the past few years. How quickly we forget how the dollars go 'round and 'round and eventually wind up in the pockets of the rich....

Trades people in our

Trades people in our hospitals might have the same testing requirements to get their qualification papers but compared to your average offer tower construction worker or maintenance type they deal with the most complex systems including many specialities that you wouldn't find in the outside.

I knew that they weren't happy with pay equity and that their wages weren't keeping up with the outside union levels but I didn't know that actual union employees were slagging them; seems to be quite ridiculous if you have even a little knowledge of whats behind the walls and between the floors of even the simpliest of facilities.

Within HEU

The trades people have been very vocal in their discontent with HEU. They waged a fairly successful campaign and for that they did receive better compensation than most in HEU. I am a LPN who had to upgrade her education and take on more responsibility to make less money. I am now taking a lesson from the trade workers and instead of bashing HEU I am becoming involved and fighting for our rights within. Campbell would like nothing better than for us all to do in house fighting. He is all about union busting. Let us not air dirty laundry in public. Let us fight for our rights within the union and the rights Campbell would love to strip from us.
I have written many times to this LIberal government explaining the changing role of the LPN. The Liberals are very aware of our increased education and responsibility. Their answer to the way we are treated is because we belong to HEU. They offer to remove us from the union. Well all I remember is Campbell legislates contracts so how can my wage and benefits be unions fault? Gordo is out to bust unions starting with HEU as the example and Bill 29 was just his first step of that.