Wal-Mart Canada to fight for its right to close store

Wal-Mart in Canada will go to the Supreme Court in Canada as it fights for its right to close a store after employees unionised. The closure followed one of the first unionisations of Wal-Mart employees in North America. The court will consider whether the retailer violated Quebec labour laws and the workers’ constitutional rights by shutting its store during negotiations for an inaugural collective agreement almost four years ago. Citing the cost of rising wages, the retailer closed another outlet in Gatineau, Quebec, three months ago after workers secured their first union contract.

The court will decide whether the permanent closure of a store constitutes “good and sufficient reasons” for terminating employment. Two lower courts in Quebec have already ruled that a store cannot be forced to stay open against its will. Lawyers contend that Wal-Mart not only broke provincial labour laws, but also violated freedom-of-association guarantees in the Canadian Charter of Rights. The Canadian Labour Congress is intervening on the workers' side to argue against an "unfettered right to close down operations" when workers unionise. The group said: "In other Canadian jurisdictions, expert labour tribunals have consistently held that the closure of a business motivated by anti-union animus is an unfair labour practice."

A victory for Wal-Mart would "intimidate, prevent or discourage employees at other locations from exercising their freedom to unionize and engage in collective bargaining," the labour congress said.

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