B.C. public service workers’ lawyer will argue that unions failed to represent them.

May 7, 2022

Authored by Cindy E. Harnett via Times Colonist (emphasis ours)

Just over 200 union members are set to go up against their unions in a bid to prove that they failed to represent them or colluded with the government on COVID‑19 vaccine mandates.

Two doses of vaccination against COVID-19 was made a condition of employment for B.C. public service employees in November. People who wouldn’t get vaccinated or wouldn’t disclose their vaccination status were put on unpaid leave.

Lawyer Umar Sheikh of Sheikh Law will make the arguments before a Labour Relations Board hearing. A former Health Ministry director of labour relations, Sheikh led a ­successful fight against “vaccinate or mask” flu vaccine policies in 2019 as CEO of the British Columbia Nurses’ Union.

“It’s a pretty big labour board case,” Sheikh said. “I’ve dealt with massive union issues and I understand where the unions, in my view, have fallen down here.”

Sheikh will argue failure to represent and collusion under section 12 of the B.C. Labour Relations Code in a hearing on behalf of members belonging to several unions, including the B.C. General Employees’ Union, MoveUP, Unifor, CUPE 873, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. They include B.C. Transit workers and paramedics, among others.

The B.C. Labour Relations Board will be asked to find that the unions failed to represent members and as such award full damages and compensation, including income loss. Sheikh will argue the cases against each union individually, starting with the BCGEU and then proceeding to the national unions. “These will be huge,” he said.

Unions have said they are committed to helping ­members with legitimate medical or ­religious exemptions and while they didn’t want to see termination of members, the large majority of their members are in support of the vaccinations.

Union leaders have also cited the Order in Council that made vaccination a condition of employment for public service employees. It was ordered Nov. 19 and was retroactive to Nov 1. It’s a regulation under the Public Service Act.

The Order in Council, ­however, serves to underscore Sheikh’s argument: “It’s not possible to have done this without consultation with the unions, which means that the unions would have agreed for a certain segment of their members to be discriminated against,” he said. “And so we’re bringing a claim against them.”

The B.C. Public Service Employees for Freedom, a group formed late last year in response to the public service vaccine mandate, cited an unnamed B.C. Corrections worker in the south-central Interior as saying the BCGEU had “abandoned” them and “sided with the NDP government on this vaccine mandate.”

The B.C. Public Service Agency said that as of April 20,

402 employees were either unvaccinated or refused to disclose their vaccination status as required under the COVID-19 vaccination policy and 31 terminations had taken place.

Meanwhile, there are two streams of vaccine ­mandate cases headed to B.C. Supreme Court: non-union ­members of Crown corporations making a “policy argument” against mandatory vaccination, and a group of public servants serving as petitioners making a judicial review Charter of Rights argument.

Non-union workers at Crown corporations including B.C. Hydro, B.C. Lottery Corp and B.C. Transit will file individual lawsuits against their employers claiming constructive dismissal and wrongful termination.

These employees were placed on unpaid leave and unable to access employment insurance with no redress, Sheikh said. “These people are literally ­bankrupt,” he said, adding that one of his B.C. Transit clients died by suicide.

In a separate lawsuit, 11 B.C. public servants will go to B.C. Supreme Court as part of a ­petition to fight the vaccine mandate, save their jobs and be compensated for their losses.

Court documents say the vaccine policy fundamentally altered the employees’ ­contract “without proper notice or ­agreement or their consent, in order to terminate them ­without any sort of due process or ­procedural fairness, for just cause.”

As well, employees can only request an exemption from the vaccine requirement based on a medical condition or other protected ground as defined under B.C’s Human Rights Code.

No exemption was provided, however, for freedom of ­conscience or security of the person under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, say court documents.

Additionally, Sheikh will argue the reasons for the ­two-dose vaccine mandate — to prevent transmission— no longer hold up as three doses is now the norm. Even vaccinated people can transmit COVID-19, and the mask and B.C. vaccine card mandates have been largely dropped.

The petitioners lost their bid in court for an injunction to hold off their firings until their case is heard in court in July. The petitioners were informed on April 14 that the terminations under the “Human Resources Policy 25 — COVID vaccination” could go ahead with 14 days’ notice.

The court filing says the vaccine mandate should be quashed. The mandate is expected to be in place until “public health concerns regarding COVID are reduced to a level, prescribed by government, to enable workplaces to operate without COVID-related restrictions.”

ceharnett@timescolonist.com

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The legal matter, brought on by four petitioners, is on behalf of over 500 other public servants who are hoping to seek a temporary stay of terminations.

March 29, 2022

Authored by Drea Humphrey via Rebel News (emphasis ours),

This past Friday, four British Columbia public servants who filed a petition for an interlocutory injunction to stop the termination of staff found not to be in compliance with their employers COVID-19 vaccine mandate had their matter heard in B.C.’s Supreme Court.

The legal matter, brought on by four petitioners, is on behalf of over 500 other public servants who are hoping to seek a temporary stay of terminations until an upcoming judicial review of the province’s Public Service COVID-19 Vaccination Regulation order and human resources policy 25 is heard in a two-day trial set for this May. 

“At it’s core this case is about the government creating a regulation that says this part of the Charter applies, and this part of the Charter doesn’t apply” said Umar Sheikh, the lead counsel for the petitioners.

Sheikh, who was the lead negotiator in the B.C. nurses union winning a battle to not be forced to wear a mask if they did not receive the flu vaccine, is no stranger to challenges involving public health and Charter rights of employees.

Justice Carol J. Ross heard the arguments from Sheikh and Bruce Hallsor, the managing partner of Crease Harman LLP, before deferring her decision until Friday, April 1.

Watch my sit down interview with Sheikh and Phillip Davidson, a B.C. public servant for 14 years in various ministries and policy rolls, and who is the lead petitioner on the case, about what took place in court and what comes next for B.C. public servants fight for medical freedoms.

A website has been put together here to inform the public about the group behind the petition and how they have been affected by the mandates.

To join Rebel News and The Democracy Fund, a registered Canadian charity, in fighting against vaccine passports and ‘no jab, no pay’ policies in Canada, please make a charitable donation to help cover the legal fees for over 20 cases doing just that at FightVaccinePassports.com.

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The petitioners spearheading the legal fight on behalf of approximately 500 public servants are set to have their matter heard on Monday March 21 and hope to be granted an interlocutory injunction preventing enforcement of the mandate.

(Note: the hearing will not occur on Monday but is set to happen the week of March 21. – BCPS Employees for Freedom).

March 19, 2022

Authored by Drea Humphrey via Rebel News (emphasis ours),

The post Rebel News: Public servants set to fight British Columbia’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in court on Monday appeared first on BCPS Employees for Freedom Society.

Action will be taken to court by nine people the week of March 21 to argue injunction, says lawyer.

(Note: as of the date of this article, terminations of B.C. public servants are still pending. – BCPS Employees for Freedom).

March 4, 2022

Authored by Megan Atkins-Baker via Victoria News (emphasis ours),

An action in B.C. Supreme Court has been filed by nine B.C. public servants – now facing termination – who refused to show proof of COVID-19 immunization following provincial government orders.

The petitioners are seeking an end to these terminations based on vaccination as a condition of their employment.

According to court documents obtained by Black Press Media, the petitioners say these policies fundamentally alter terms of employment contracts without proper notice, agreement or consent.

Due to a lack of procedural fairness, the regulation should be “quashed,” the action claims.

There were four petitioners that began the injunction and the number has since grown to nine – more people are expected to add their names in the days and weeks to come, said representing lawyer Umar Sheikh. A total of 400 B.C. public servants refused to disclose their vaccination status.

The original four petitioners include privacy officer Karine Bordua, senior manager for major projects Zoran Boskovic, former director of policy and stakeholder relations Philip Davidson and human resources service representative Clinton Chevrier.

Davidson was given a “final warning letter” on Jan. 17 indicating that his employment would be terminated on Feb. 23.

On Thursday (March 3) five more ­petitioners added their names: Emily Coburn, Caterina Bova, Brenda Johnson, Zorica ­Boskovic and Monica Maria ­Zuluaga, said Sheikh.

“It appears that we will be heading to court the week of March 21 to argue the injunction.”

Employees with up to 25 years of service are being fired without severance and only fully vaccinated employees are allowed to work from home and employees on leave without pay, including pregnant employees have been denied EI, Sheikh said.

“This move will cost the government millions of dollars in recruitment, rehiring, retraining and the loss of invaluable expertise,” he added. “We are currently working to add individuals to the petition who have fully complied with the policy as well.”

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At issue is a Nov. 19 provincial government order that makes COVID‑19 vaccination a condition of employment for all B.C. public service employees.

March 3, 2022

Authored by Cindy E. Harnett via Times Colonist (emphasis ours),

Nine B.C. public servants are set to go to court to fight a vaccine mandate that could result in them losing their jobs.

Last week, four of the almost 400 public servants who refused to show proof of immunization and are facing termination, filed an action in B.C. Supreme Court in hopes of petitioning the court to stop the terminations. The number has since risen to nine.

At issue is a Nov. 19 provincial government order that makes COVID‑19 vaccination a condition of employment for all B.C. public service employees.

Court documents say the vaccine policy fundamentally altered the employees’ contract “without proper notice or agreement or their consent, in order to terminate them without any sort of due process or procedural fairness, for just cause.”

The court filing says the vaccine mandate should be quashed. The mandate is expected to be in place until “public health concerns regarding COVID are reduced to a level, prescribed by government, to enable workplaces to operate without COVID-related restrictions.”

Pending a judicial review of their case, the petitioners are seeking an injunction to stop terminations from proceeding.

The petitioners “have each made the choice, based on strongly held conviction of conscience, to either not get vaccinated at this time or disclose whether they have received the COVID-19 vaccination,” say court documents.

Documents show the original petitioners are Philip Davidson, 39, a former director of policy and stakeholder relations, Karine Bordua, 49, privacy officer, Zoran Boskovic, 58, senior manager for major projects, and Clinton Chevrier, 38, human resources service representative.

The four were under contracts in four different government ministries and have nearly 60 years of combined service with the provincial government. On Jan. 17, Davidson was given a “final warning letter” and the Public Service Agency indicated his employment would be terminated on Feb. 23.

This week, five more ­petitioners joined the action: Emily Coburn, Caterina Bova, Brenda Johnson, Zorica ­Boskovic and Monica Maria ­Zuluaga, said lawyer Umar Sheikh of Crease Harman, co-counsel on the case.

“We expect more to continue adding their names,” Sheikh said Wednesday. Some public servants who complied with the vaccine mandate are lending financial support to the action, he said.

B.C.’s attorney general has said the province will give 14 days’ notice of any firings, said Sheikh, who hopes that will allow the petitioners time to have their case for an injunction heard. It is scheduled for the week of March 21.

Sheikh said that the vaccine order is unconstitutional, goes against the Charter of Rights and “fundamentally alters the employment contract.”

Employees can only request an exemption from the vaccine requirement based on a medical condition or other protected ground as defined under B.C’s Human Rights Code.

No exemption is provided, however, for freedom of conscience or security of the person under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, say court documents.

Beyond the charter challenge, Sheikh questions how the firings benefit public health or British Columbians at large, saying the province will have to recruit and rehire for the positions and will lose decades of expertise.

Sheikh said a separate action is being considered against the B.C. General Employees’ Union “for failure to represent.”

BCGEU president Stephanie Smith said recently the vast majority of its approximate 30,000 members are vaccinated.

B.C. Public Service Employees for Freedom, a group formed late last year in response to the public service vaccine mandate, welcomed more colleagues standing behind the petition “to end the unnecessary, unjust and unethical vaccine mandate and terminations.”

It says its registered membership is nearly 500, including union and non-union staff and management.

In a statement, the group cites an unnamed B.C. Corrections worker in the south-central Interior as saying the BCGEU has “abandoned” them and “sided with the NDP government on this vaccine mandate.”

ceharnett@timescolonist.com

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