Latest news with #labourrelations
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What happens next after union certification at Amazon warehouse in B.C.
There are fears that Amazon may pull out of its B.C. operations after a recent Labour Relations Board (LRB) ruling confirmed union certification at a Delta, B.C. warehouse. The LRB recently rejected the U.S. megacorporation's attempt to overturn a previous ruling that granted certification to workers that had signed union cards at the facility, which employs hundreds of people. That previous ruling had found that Amazon had ramped up hiring dramatically to dilute union support, in a move that was characterized as an unfair labour practice by the LRB and was heavily criticized by the Unifor union. While Amazon said it intends to further appeal the latest decision, the progress on unionization has led to fears the company may pull out of B.C. — as it did in Quebec, following the unionization of a warehouse in Laval, Que., in May 2024. Labour experts said the latest ruling is part of a long-running pattern of anti-union activity by Amazon, though much is up in the air over whether the company could pull out of B.C. entirely, given the province's labour laws. "We're certainly always concerned about that. We've reached out to the government to always strengthen the laws," Gavin McGarrigle, the Western regional director for Unifor, said of the prospect of Amazon pulling out of B.C. "We've pointed to the situation in Quebec. We're not going to put up with any of that. We're going to throw everything we have at this." An Amazon spokesperson said the company would determine its next steps after an appeal and that it did not have further comments on its future in B.C. Company historically anti-union: prof. In B.C., if more than 55 per cent of eligible workers at a facility sign union cards, union certification is granted automatically, while if the cards represent at least 45 per cent, a vote may be called instead. The LRB had previously granted Unifor certification through a rare remedial order that's used when employer misconduct compromises the integrity of a vote. It came after Amazon brought in 148 new employees between March and June 2024 — a period that overlapped with two certification attempts by Eidlin, an associate professor of sociology at McGill University, said: "The Labour [Board] basically found that Amazon had behaved in such an egregious way, in trying to prevent its workers from unionizing, that it's made any kind of fair election or certification procedure impossible." Supriya Routh, an associate professor at the University of B.C.'s Allard School of Law who studies labour and employment law, said Amazon has historically been anti-union at their workplaces. "Their union-busting activities are taken as a badge of pride," he said. "But I don't think in the Canadian context that kind of a policy, that kind of an approach, will work — because I don't think it goes well with Canadian sensitivities. "If Amazon wants to do business in Canada, which I do think they have a lot of reasons to do, they'll have to adhere to laws and the legitimate expectations of workers in Canada." What B.C.'s labour laws say Eidlin and Routh both say that B.C.'s labour laws will soon mandate that the two parties negotiate a collective agreement, or have an arbitrator impose an agreement on them. That could mean a ticking clock on when the Unifor union in Delta gets a contract, which would represent a first for a North American Amazon warehouse — but also the possibility of the company pulling out as it did in Quebec. Amazon has steadfastly maintained that its decision to pull out of that province was over cost reductions and efficiency, and it decided to use third-party carriers to provide savings for customers. Eidlin said it may be harder for Amazon to continue to serve the B.C. market if they entirely pull out of the West Coast, saying the company was able to fill the gaps in Quebec through services in Ontario, and the logistics may be more complicated in B.C. According to the professor, while there is limited legal recourse for when a private company ends its operations in a province, B.C. still had a legal framework that aims to defend the core Canadian values of allowing workers dignity and respect at work. "If that's under attack, it's something that should be defended," he said. "It's not something that should be, sort of, jettisoned in the name of competitiveness or something like that." Amazon adds value to local economy: study When Amazon announced the opening of its Delta, B.C., facility in 2018, it had estimated at the time that more than 700 jobs would be created as a result. The company's 2023 impact report stated it has 10,000 full-time and part-time employees in B.C. A paper by Evan Cunningham, a PhD economist at the University of Minnesota, looked at the expansion of Amazon warehouses across the U.S. It found that the company's entry into a metro area in that country had increased the local employment rate by one per cent and average wages by 0.7 per cent. "Actually, most of the jobs created as a result of Amazon's entry are actually not at Amazon warehouses themselves," Cunningham told CBC News. "I find significant positive spillovers across the entire labour market ... these warehouses also created opportunities within construction, within restaurants, within administrative services and also information technology." Cunningham noted, however, that Amazon's entry into an area also saw local housing prices go up, which could actually exacerbate income inequality. "Homeowners see a significant improvement in their wealth as a result of those rising home values," he said. "For renters, on the other hand, the improvements in the labour market are almost completely offset from those higher costs of living."
CBC
13 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
What happens next after union certification at Amazon warehouse in B.C.
Social Sharing There are fears that Amazon may pull out of its B.C. operations after a recent Labour Relations Board (LRB) ruling confirmed union certification at a Delta, B.C. warehouse. The LRB recently rejected the U.S. megacorporation's attempt to overturn a previous ruling that granted certification to workers that had signed union cards at the facility, which employs hundreds of people. That previous ruling had found that Amazon had ramped up hiring dramatically to dilute union support, in a move that was characterized as an unfair labour practice by the LRB and was heavily criticized by the Unifor union. While Amazon said it intends to further appeal the latest decision, the progress on unionization has led to fears the company may pull out of B.C. — as it did in Quebec, following the unionization of a warehouse in Laval, Que., in May 2024. Labour experts said the latest ruling is part of a long-running pattern of anti-union activity by Amazon, though much is up in the air over whether the company could pull out of B.C. entirely, given the province's labour laws. "We're certainly always concerned about that. We've reached out to the government to always strengthen the laws," Gavin McGarrigle, the Western regional director for Unifor, said of the prospect of Amazon pulling out of B.C. "We've pointed to the situation in Quebec. We're not going to put up with any of that. We're going to throw everything we have at this." An Amazon spokesperson said the company would determine its next steps after an appeal and that it did not have further comments on its future in B.C. Company historically anti-union: prof. In B.C., if more than 55 per cent of eligible workers at a facility sign union cards, union certification is granted automatically, while if the cards represent at least 45 per cent, a vote may be called instead. The LRB had previously granted Unifor certification through a rare remedial order that's used when employer misconduct compromises the integrity of a vote. It came after Amazon brought in 148 new employees between March and June 2024 — a period that overlapped with two certification attempts by Unifor. WATCH | Union certified at Amazon warehouse: Delta, B.C., Amazon workers certified to unionize 27 days ago Barry Eidlin, an associate professor of sociology at McGill University, said: "The Labour [Board] basically found that Amazon had behaved in such an egregious way, in trying to prevent its workers from unionizing, that it's made any kind of fair election or certification procedure impossible." Supriya Routh, an associate professor at the University of B.C.'s Allard School of Law who studies labour and employment law, said Amazon has historically been anti-union at their workplaces. "Their union-busting activities are taken as a badge of pride," he said. "But I don't think in the Canadian context that kind of a policy, that kind of an approach, will work — because I don't think it goes well with Canadian sensitivities. "If Amazon wants to do business in Canada, which I do think they have a lot of reasons to do, they'll have to adhere to laws and the legitimate expectations of workers in Canada." What B.C.'s labour laws say Eidlin and Routh both say that B.C.'s labour laws will soon mandate that the two parties negotiate a collective agreement, or have an arbitrator impose an agreement on them. That could mean a ticking clock on when the Unifor union in Delta gets a contract, which would represent a first for a North American Amazon warehouse — but also the possibility of the company pulling out as it did in Quebec. Amazon has steadfastly maintained that its decision to pull out of that province was over cost reductions and efficiency, and it decided to use third-party carriers to provide savings for customers. Eidlin said it may be harder for Amazon to continue to serve the B.C. market if they entirely pull out of the West Coast, saying the company was able to fill the gaps in Quebec through services in Ontario, and the logistics may be more complicated in B.C. According to the professor, while there is limited legal recourse for when a private company ends its operations in a province, B.C. still had a legal framework that aims to defend the core Canadian values of allowing workers dignity and respect at work. "If that's under attack, it's something that should be defended," he said. "It's not something that should be, sort of, jettisoned in the name of competitiveness or something like that." Amazon adds value to local economy: study When Amazon announced the opening of its Delta, B.C., facility in 2018, it had estimated at the time that more than 700 jobs would be created as a result. The company's 2023 impact report stated it has 10,000 full-time and part-time employees in B.C. A paper by Evan Cunningham, a PhD economist at the University of Minnesota, looked at the expansion of Amazon warehouses across the U.S. It found that the company's entry into a metro area in that country had increased the local employment rate by one per cent and average wages by 0.7 per cent. "Actually, most of the jobs created as a result of Amazon's entry are actually not at Amazon warehouses themselves," Cunningham told CBC News. "I find significant positive spillovers across the entire labour market ... these warehouses also created opportunities within construction, within restaurants, within administrative services and also information technology." Cunningham noted, however, that Amazon's entry into an area also saw local housing prices go up, which could actually exacerbate income inequality. "Homeowners see a significant improvement in their wealth as a result of those rising home values," he said.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Amazon's bid to overturn B.C. labour ruling on workers' unionization rejected
Security guards walk in the parking lot outside Amazon's YVR2 fulfilment centre, in Delta, B.C., on Friday, July 11, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck VANCOUVER — British Columbia's Labour Relations Board has rejected a bid by e-commerce giant Amazon to overturn an earlier decision that awarded union certification to workers at a facility in Delta, B.C. In a new decision dated Tuesday, a Labour Relations Board panel ruled that it agrees with the board's original decision in July that ordered remedial certification due to Amazon ramping up hiring 'in order to thwart the union's certification application.' The panel says evidence presented by union Unifor showed 'a deliberate decision by the employer' to increase its employee roster to dilute union support during its membership drive. The decision also says the move for Amazon to intentionally pad its employee list and then using it to argue that union does not meet the threshold for certification 'is manipulating the employee list in order to avoid certification.' Amazon had applied for the Labour Relations Board to reconsider its original July decision, and the latest decision says the company argued that the last board panel had erred in applying labour laws to the case — as well as in it awarding remedial certification to the union. The company had argued that evidence showed 'there was an operational need for additional staff' while what was described as a 'pervasive anti-union campaign' was protected by employer free-speech rights. The panel, however, disagreed. 'In our view, the original decision adopts the correct approach which is to consider the employer's conduct as a whole,' the decision says. Citing precedent, the panel wites, 'We note that the kinds of activities in which the employer engaged in the present case are the 'classical hallmarks of an interference in the formation or selection of a trade union.'' The panel says that Amazon's move to 'knowingly and improperly' pad the employee list is 'sufficiently egregious' to justify its original decision to order union certification. 'From our perspective, the intentional padding of an employee list for the purpose of undermining an organizing drive is an even more fundamental attack on its employees' associational rights,' the latest decision says. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement, Unifor National president Lana Payne says the decision is a 'message' to B.C. employers to not interfere in unionization 'or to suffer the consequences.' --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2025.
Zawya
30-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
UAE: Strict measures against establishments with workers not actively engaging in licensed activities
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) has affirmed its commitment to implementing strict measures against establishments that have been flagged for not effectively engaging in their licensed activities and for having one or more registered workers without an actual employment relationship. Since the beginning of the year, the Ministry's monitoring system has detected around 1,300 establishments, owned by approximately 1,800 employers, that were not effectively practising their licensed activities, despite having registered workers without a real employment relationship. Strict measures were taken against these establishments, including suspending the issuance of new work permits, imposing more than AED34 million in fines on their owners, and placing them in the third category in the classification scheme for private sector establishments. As part of the MoHRE's efforts to ensure establishment owners comply with the UAE's human resources laws and regulations, measures were implemented against owners of these establishment to prevent them from registering any new establishments in the Ministry's systems. These measures align with the provisions of Federal Decree-Law No.33 of 2021 on Regulating Labour Relations, Cabinet Resolution No. 21 of 2020 Concerning Service Fees and Administrative Fines in the MoHRE, and Ministerial Resolution No.318 of 2024 on the Procedure for Addressing Establishments with Registered Employees Not Conducting Their Licensed Activities. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation called on employers whose establishments cease operations for any reason to cancel their licences and settle the status of their workers in accordance with the legal procedures in place in the UAE, in order to avoid legal accountability. The Ministry went on to emphasise that an inactive licensed establishment maintaining registered workers constitutes a serious violation. The legal consequences apply to both the establishment owners and the registered workers, particularly in cases where no genuine employment relationship exists, a clear violation of the legislation. The MoHRE highlighted the efficiency and effectiveness of its field-based and smart monitoring and inspection system in detecting and taking action against such establishments. Leveraging comprehensive indicators on each establishment's activities, authorities can assess its operational status. This assessment is based on factors including authorised business activity, the number of sponsored workers, transaction movements with the Ministry, and other criteria verified through field inspections.
CBC
11-06-2025
- CBC
2025 marks 100 years since William Davis was killed, sparking changes in coal mining
Coal mining communities are remembering William Davis on the 100th anniversary of his death. The father of 10 was killed on June 11, 1925, during a strike in Cape Breton over better wages and working conditions. His legacy inspired Miners' Memorial Day and ushered in a new era of Canadian labour relations policies. The CBC's Erin Pottie reports.
