In a ruling that could have a major impact on the construction of the new towers at Vernon Jubilee Hospital and Kelowna General Hospital, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the 
collective bargaining process is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. “We‘re very pleased with the ruling,” said Margi Blamey, a 
Hospital Employees Union (HEU) spokesperson. “Healthcare unions have always said that Bill 29 was bad public policy and now the Supreme Court has backed that up and called it unconstitutional.” Bill 29 was passed on Jan. 28, 2002 and effectively paved the way for the privatization of certain areas of health care by eliminating provisions relating to collective bargaining. The Supreme Court ruled 6-1 that Bill 29 interfered with collective bargaining, which the judges said was protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. “The Supreme Court has recognized that Bill 29 went into collective agreements that weren‘t open for negotiation and ripped them up,” said Blamey. While the implications have yet to be worked out in detail, the union is calling for a moratorium on the Interior Health tendering process which is calling for proposals to build the two new hospital towers. The HEU has claimed that by tying in maintenance and housekeeping contracts with the construction process of the new towers, more than 300 union jobs would be lost as union employees would be replaced with lower-waged private workers. “We‘re still trying to get a sense of the finer points of the ruling,” said Blamey, “in the meantime we‘ve asked that the government impose a moratorium on any planned or future layoffs.” In a recent poll conducted by the HEU, 80 per cent of respondents said that the IHA should reject privatization of cleaning and maintenance jobs if it meant patient safety would be put at risk. Blamey said unions are hoping to meet with the government very soon and discuss the practical applications of the ruling. The Interior Health Authority could not be reached for comment.
collective bargaining process is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. “We‘re very pleased with the ruling,” said Margi Blamey, a 
Hospital Employees Union (HEU) spokesperson. “Healthcare unions have always said that Bill 29 was bad public policy and now the Supreme Court has backed that up and called it unconstitutional.” Bill 29 was passed on Jan. 28, 2002 and effectively paved the way for the privatization of certain areas of health care by eliminating provisions relating to collective bargaining. The Supreme Court ruled 6-1 that Bill 29 interfered with collective bargaining, which the judges said was protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. “The Supreme Court has recognized that Bill 29 went into collective agreements that weren‘t open for negotiation and ripped them up,” said Blamey. While the implications have yet to be worked out in detail, the union is calling for a moratorium on the Interior Health tendering process which is calling for proposals to build the two new hospital towers. The HEU has claimed that by tying in maintenance and housekeeping contracts with the construction process of the new towers, more than 300 union jobs would be lost as union employees would be replaced with lower-waged private workers. “We‘re still trying to get a sense of the finer points of the ruling,” said Blamey, “in the meantime we‘ve asked that the government impose a moratorium on any planned or future layoffs.” In a recent poll conducted by the HEU, 80 per cent of respondents said that the IHA should reject privatization of cleaning and maintenance jobs if it meant patient safety would be put at risk. Blamey said unions are hoping to meet with the government very soon and discuss the practical applications of the ruling. The Interior Health Authority could not be reached for comment. 
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