Toronto, Canada, 16 May 2011 – Baker & McKenzie Labour and Employment Partner Kevin Coon, was one of two employer representatives invited to participate in the Canada-China Forum on Industrial Relations & Labour Rights which took place May 6 – 7, 2011 in Beijing, China.
The Forum, which focused on industrial relations, workplace discrimination and human rights issues was held at the Beijing Conference Centre. The forum organized by The York Centre for Public Policy and Law (YCPPL) brought together some of Canada's top thinkers in industrial and labour rights with key policy-makers and thinkers in China.
"The Canada-China Forum is the first of its kind and reflects a new initiative of the Government of Canada in the realm of recalibrating their relationship with China involving university-led research units," says Political Science Professor Lesley Jacobs, Director of YCPPL.
The Chinese Government has placed a priority on understanding and exploring the issues related to trade unions, collective bargaining and related workplace topics in the context of China. China has experienced an increasing number of workplace “strikes” and disputes related to rights in the workplace over the past year.
Kevin Coon presented two sessions during the forum, “
Collective Agreements as a Legal Instrument for Addressing Workplace Discrimination” and “
The Challenges and Future Trends of Collective Bargaining: An Employer’s Perspective”.
Canada’s ambassador to China, David Mulroney, along with Debra Young, Director General of International and Intergovernmental Labour Affairs and various Chinese academics and dignitaries, including Professor Chang Kai of Renmin University of China, Professor Ding Lihong, Capital University of Economics and Business, Qui Xiao Ping, Director-General Labour Relations Department, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and Professor Ye Jingyi, School of Law, Peking University, were present to participate in this important forum.
"Working with government officials in Canada and the Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing, this event will bring together a 17-person Canadian delegation, including academics, senior government officials, representatives from human rights commissioners, and delegates from business, labour and NGOs, to provide a dynamic platform for an important comparative discussion of industrial relations and workplace rights while relating these issues to international labour standards," says Jacobs.
Mr. Coon is Head of Baker & McKenzie’s Labour & Employment Law Practice Group in Toronto. He has a commitment to the development of social policy issues related to international labour standards, compliance and workplace issues. Mr. Coon has served on the Canadian employer delegation to the United Nations International Labour Organization, served on the Committee on the Application of International Labour Standards, the Committee reviewing the issues of the Informal Economy, on the Sectoral Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility and on the Drafting Committee that produced the International Labour Standard on HIV/AIDS in the World of Work. He advises corporations, government and not for profit organizations on compliance related to labor standards, business and human rights, ethics, corporate social responsibility and matters related to doing business in a global economy.