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Labour applauds Quebec ruling on migrant workers

'From a legal perspective it's a tremendous victory.' - Naveen Mehta.

Montreal (4 May 2010) - Labour activists are applauding a ruling by the Quebec Labour Relations Commission (QLRC) granting migrant workers at a Quebec vegetable farm the right to unionize.

The commission ruled this spring that a clause in Quebec labour law – excluding migrant workers from the right to join a union – was unconstitutional.

"From a legal perspective it's a tremendous victory," human rights lawyer Naveen Mehta, who works with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW Canada), told The Canadian Press.

Quebec law has long barred agricultural workers from forming a union unless there are at least three permanent employees who work at a farm year-round, a barrier that effectively blocks all unionization attempts, Mehta said.

The commission ruled that the exception written into Quebec law can no longer be justified.

"There's no proof agricultural businesses that employ fewer than three workers a year are in a financial situation so dire that it justifies completely negating their freedom of association," wrote commissioner Robert Cote.

Lawyer Pierre Grenier, who represented the union, agreed. " ... these farms have evolved into specialized companies and significant businesses so the protection is useless and they no longer need special consideration," he said.

Figures compiled by the federal government show that approximately 17,000 Mexican migrants worked in Canada in 2009. Guatemala and various Caribbean countries also supplied labour. Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and B.C. employ the most migrant workers. However, nearly all provinces make some use of migrant labour.

Last year, a parliamentary immigration committee studying the issue concluded that there were more than 200,000 temporary workers employed in various economic sectors across Canada.

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has signed a formal protocol with UFCW Canada to support the union in its ongoing drive to organize and improve the lives of long-exploited migrant farm workers in Canada.

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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE