Home / Some Mounties going to Supreme Court for right to unionize

Some Mounties going to Supreme Court for right to unionize

By News1130 Staff/News1130

Published on February 18, 2014

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – RCMP officers demanding the right to form a union will take their case before the Supreme Court of Canada today.

Some Mounties believe they should have an effective labour relations system.

Lindsay Lyster with the BC Civil Liberties Association says they filed for intervenor status in the case because there are some important public policy questions being raised “around whether it’s a breach of RCMP members.”

“Freedom of association is protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. [Is it a breach] for them to not be permitted to be represented in their dealings with their employer through the association of their choice?”

“If RCMP members were granted what we say are their full extent of freedom of association, who knows what they would choose to do. But I’m certainly not aware of other groups of workers who are systematically denied the right to choose whether they wish to be unionized,” she adds.

Mounties involved in the case say they are paid less than other police officers and deserve the right to negotiate their wages.

Posted on January 28, 2014 by

By Hayley Cooper/news1130.com

CIVIL LIBERTIES CAN’T PROTECT THEMSELVES