Last week, the British Columbia Supreme Court found the Hospital Employees Union (HEU) guilty of contempt and imposed the largest fine against a union in BC history. The record setting $150,000 is a mere shot in the arm for the well financed HEU but the ruling has symbolic importance.

In his reasons for judgment, Justice Bauman unequivocally condemns the use of illegal tactics during labour disputes and suggests when services to the public are disrupted, penalties should be more severe. He states, "I do not overlook the very public nature of the HEU's defiance of the order and the fact that the damage engendered thereby, far from being confined to the parties, has extended to the public at large." A signal to other public sector unions that illegal strike actions will carry significant monetary penalties.

In this particular labour dispute, the HEU had been legally striking for three days when, following provincial government legislation, the Labour Relations Board ordered the 43,000 HEU members to return to work. The HEU defied that order and remained on the picket lines four additional days.

In that relatively short time period, 5,896 surgeries were cancelled and close to 20,000 diagnostic procedures and tests were also cancelled. Many other people and patients were impacted by the reduction in service levels at hospitals across the province. The Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) has estimated the illegal action cost $6.4 million. These costs will not be recovered out of the HEU's $16 million war chest or political action fund. No, once again the taxpayer is on the hook, denied services and expected to absorb the aftermath of another public sector union dispute.

Canada's beloved health care monopoly has provided public sector health unions with an inordinate amount of power over patients and taxpayers. Those 25,000 patients that were adversely impacted by the HEU's illegal strike were left with have no options for recourse and had no alternative for service. The crippling effects of the HEU's illegal strike on patients across the province prompted the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) to organize a class action lawsuit against the Hospital Employees Union.

Immediately following the back to work legislation, the CTF asked affected patients to contact its BC office to tell their stories. Many contacted the CTF, not for personal financial gains, but to take a stand against the illegal actions of the HEU. The CTF has retained legal counsel and is acting as a clearing house for those patients that had their surgeries and procedures cancelled during the illegal striking period. Before the case can proceed, however, the Labour Relations Board needs to certify that the actions of the HEU were in fact illegal. Given Justice Bauman's findings that, "the HEU and its members were engaged in an illegal strike involving hospital and health care facilities around the province" during April 30 to May 3, the CTF expects the LRB certification to be a formality.

Justice Bauman is quite right when he states, "the loss represented by the pain, suffering, stress, anxiety and just plain inconvenience to the public, wrought by these activities, is incalculable." Although incalculable, this ordeal was not unavoidable or inescapable.

As guardians of our education, health care and government services, public sector unions enjoy a dangerous level impunity. Rarely challenged by the taxpayers that pay their salaries, public sector unions have escaped accountability for the actions. Justice Bauman's decision and his emphasis on deterrence and denunciation of illegal actions as well as intimidation tactics is a good first step. The public is beginning to stand up to unions as well. Many patients are prepared to move forward with the CTF and are committed to the class action suit to hold the HEU accountable for its illegal actions.