The transcript of a Question and Answer interview with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
Södergren has successfully argued that closed shops violate the UN’s declaration of human rights and consequently helped pull the plug on the 15,000 that were in his homeland. However, in Canada, unlike most other countries, union membership as a condition of employment is still supported by collective agreements and legislation like the BC Labour Code.
John Mortimer and Jan Södergren
Special to the Vancouver Sun, October 4, 2007
Despite this being a universally declared right and a growing worldwide trend to ensure union membership is freely chosen, Canada, still allows forced union membership and the use of union dues for political purposes. Many unionized employees still face the archaic choice of joining a union or being fired.
Click here to read the entire article
In response to this article, George Heyman president of the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union wrote this piece.
Column - George Heyman - Labour's foes have neither law nor history on their side, October 11, 2007, the Vancouver Sun
A Vancouver Sun reader refuted Mr Heyman's New Zealand information in this Letter to the Editor:
Letter responding to Heyman - Tom Muirhead - New Zealand performs a labour balancing act , October 15, 2007, the Vancouver Sun
A Swedish lawyer ventured into the heart of union country Tuesday to deliver a decidedly un-union-like message - that forced union membership is a violation of basic human rights.
Many unionized employees still face the archaic choice of join a union – or be fired.
In contrast, unionized employees in the 47-nation Council of Europe have a choice regarding union membership; and most who reject membership pay no dues at all. As of 2007, it’s also illegal for unions to use unionized non-member's dues for political activities.
To this day, many unionized Canadian workers are required to join the union that represents them or risk losing their jobs. In the midst of a worldwide trend to ensure union membership is a free choice, Canada remains one of the last Western countries to allow forced union membership and the use of union dues for political purposes.
Bio and Resume
Click here to read full resume
Jan Södergren is an experienced European lawyer based in Stockholm, Sweden, specializing in labour law and constitutional law including freedom of speech, rights of association and property rights. He also handles civil litigation cases, the majority of which involve the application of European law. Jan represented the five unionized construction employees in the Evaldsson case.
A graduate of the University of Stockholm, he is now a well-known speaker and the author of numerous legal articles related to constitutional and human rights cases. His excellent work in many high-profile cases has advanced the rights of employees and citizens throughout the European Union.
Click here to read the full Media Advisory
If forced union membership violates Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms then why is it mandatory for so many unionized provincial civil servants and private sector employees across Canada to also become a union “Member” or be fired?
In the 27 countries of the European Union and the 47 countries of the larger Council of Europe, forced union membership as a condition of employment is an illegal violation of human rights. So is taking dues from unionized employees who do not join the union that represents them and using them for political purposes. This is the result of 26 years of human rights litigation culminating in judgments in 2006 and 2007 from the European Court of Human Rights.
