The International Trade Union Confederation has declared February 18 as a day of action to defend the right to strike.

Workers around the world and their unions are calling on governments to respect the right of workers to strike against employers as part of collective bargaining.

The day resonates in Canada because the Supreme Court of Canada gave “constitutional benediction” to workers’ right to strike on January 30.

While it remains to be seen how this decision will affect Bill C-4, a federal look-alike of the Saskatchewan law the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional, PSAC President Robyn Benson committed the union to defending the right to strike everywhere.

She noted that employer groups at the International Labour Organization are attempting to undermine decades of international law and jurisprudence that has established the right to strike.

“We just won a major victory for the rights of workers and unions in Canada and we will not stand by to see those rights eroded at an international level,” she added.