Decision on agricultural workers’ bargaining rights still months away
Ontario’s Agricultural Employees Protection Act could work just fine but “it never had a chance,” says agricultural industry representative
photo: Ken Forth
Ontario’s Agricultural Employees Protection Act could work just fine but “it never had a chance,” says agricultural industry representative
photo: Ken Forth
Ontario plans to fight a court decision about a law addressing ag workers’ bargaining rights.
Last week, foreign workers at a mushroom farm near Milton were told to pack their bags and return home. The company, Rol-Land Farms Ltd., won’t say why. Some of the workers plan to detail their experiences tomorrow.
It’s the fifth time in recent years that the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada has argued in the courts that Ontario farm workers should have the right to bargain collectively, a union’s key strength. This time around, justices with the Ontario Appeal Court agree. But the fight’s not over yet, says a representative of the provincial agriculture community’s Labour Issues Coordinating Committee.