Saskatchewan court rules secret ballot vote needed for certification
A Saskatchewan judge has overturned the union certification of a Wal-Mart in Weyburn.
In 2004, the United Food and Commercial Workers union applied for certification when a majority of workers at the store, located 115 kilometres southeast of Regina, signed union cards.
Under labour laws at the time, a secret ballot vote was not required.
Last December, after years of challenges from the Bentonville, Ark., based retailer, the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board approved the certification of the Weyburn store.
But Court of Queen's Bench Justice Peter Foley voided the union certification because as of May 2008, seven months before the board approved the certification, a secret ballot vote is required to certify a union in the province.
Justice Foley sent the application for certification back to the board, leaving the door open for union certification if the majority of store workers support it in a secret ballot.
