Wal-Mart Canada wins union battle

OTTAWA, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Wal-Mart Canada was within its rights to close a Quebec store after its workers voted to unionize, Canada's Supreme Court ruled Friday.

By a 6-3 vote, the justices said the retailer did not contravene Quebec's labor code by shutting down the four-year-old store in Jonquiere in 2005, the Canwest News Service reported.

Two lower courts in Quebec had already ruled in Wal-Mart's favor, saying a store cannot be forced to remain open against its will, based on Wal-Mart's testimony the store wasn't profitable.

Some 200 employees were laid off after the United Food and Commercial Workers demanded 30 more employees be hired as part of the first collective agreement.

The challenge went to the high court by employees claiming their right to organize a collective bargaining unit was violated under both the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Quebec's labor code, the Globe and Mail said.