A group of employees and managers from Wal-Mart's Canadian subsidiary are to begin talks that the retail workers' union hopes will produce the first collective agreement in North America covering Wal-Mart workers. The opening of negotiations will be the latest step in a two-year effort by the union, the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada, to organize Wal-Mart's 241 stores in Canada. The Canadian arm of the international union has found more success with Wal-Mart than its US counterpart has, thanks in part to differences in labour laws. 6 applications for union certification at Wal-Mart stores are pending or under appeal in three Canadian provinces.

Wal-Mart Canada, which has an undisguised dislike for unions, is already saying the Jonquiere outlet is a money-losing underperformer, raising worker concerns that it will be closed before any contract is signed. "It's very clear that they don't want a union," said Louis Bolduc, the union's Quebec co-ordinator. "If we have to start a fight between them and every union in Quebec, we will." Andrew Pelletier, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Canada, which is based in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, said the store selection was "generally performance based" and not focused on union status.

NamNews - Wednesday 27th October 2004

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