The Supreme Court of Canada ruled today that the collective bargaining process is protected by the Charter of Rights -- a decision that will have a major impact on negotiations between governments and their unions.

In its 6-1 decision, the SCC threw out sections of the B.C. Health and Social Services Delivery Improvement Act, saying it was contrary to the charter because it interfered with the collective bargaining process.

The SCC agreed with a bid from a group of British Columbia health unions attempting to overturn the 2002 provincial law that erased portions of their contracts.

The justices said the collective bargaining process is protected by Section 2 of the charter.

"The protection enshrined (in the charter) may properly be seen as the culmination of a historical movement towards the recognition of a procedural right to collective bargaining,'' they wrote.

The B.C. law was pushed through the legislature in just three days.

The government defended its move, saying it was dealing with a health-care cost crisis by giving hospitals and other employers more operational flexibility.

The law superseded existing contracts and allowed for the contracting-out of non-clinical services, which had been originally carried out by union members. It also eased lay-off notice provisions, tightened up "bumping rights" for senior employees, and cut benefits for laid-off workers.

"Bumping rights" is when an employee has the right, under certain conditions, to dis­place an employee with less seniority in a class.

Unions were also prevented from attempting to renegotiate some of the provisions in future contracts.

Lower courts in B.C. had ruled in favour of the government, saying the SCC had never specifically announced that collective bargaining was protected by the charter.

Friday's ruling said that the law's provisions were a mockery of the idea of consultation with unions.

The decision also said that the B.C. government made little attempt to look for less-intrusive measures or to consult with unions before bringing in the legislation.

"The government presented no evidence as to why this particular solution was chosen and why there was no consultation with the unions about the range of options open to it.''

The province has been given one year to fix the law.

With files from The Canadian Press