| MPP
Arnott Asks: Would Ontario’s Liberal Leader Bring Back
NDP Labour Laws?
Waterloo-Wellington
MPP Ted Arnott is challenging Ontario’s Liberal Leader
to clarify his stance on Ontario’s labour laws, alleging
that the Liberal Party may be planning to bring back
the NDP Government’s Labour Legislation, Bill 40.
The
NDP’s Bill 40, was identified as a barrier to job creation
and was repealed by the PC Government with Bill 7 in
1995. Along with allowing replacement workers, Bill
7 was designed to enshrine workplace democracy by eliminating
non-vote union certification and requiring that all
votes must be held by secret ballot. The Liberals voted
against Bill 7 in 1995, including MPP Dalton McGuinty.
Mr.
Arnott is raising the question following public comments
made by Sudbury MPP and Liberal Whip Rick Bartolucci
about a 16-month strike against Morana Kitchen Manufacturing
in Sudbury. That strike was reported as being over as
of August 22, 2002 when replacement workers voted to
decertify the union.
In
a transcript of a CBC radio interview that day, the
Liberal Whip blamed the Ontario PC Government for the
vote by taking issue with labour legislation that allows
companies to hire replacement workers during a strike.
“In
this legislation obviously, the use of replacement workers,
the company no longer has to negotiate in good faith,”
MPP Rick Bartolucci said in the interview where he is
also reported to have stated that the legislation always
gives employers the advantage and it must change.
“If
the Liberals maintain that our Government’s legislation
is the problem, specifically the right to hire replacement
workers, then they are taking the position of the previous
NDP Government that banned replacement workers under
Bill 40,” said Mr. Arnott.
In
an effort to further strengthen workplace democracy
the Government put forward Legislation that came into
force in December 2001 outlining rules to ensure that
workers have access to information on how to de-certify
their union in their workplace.
Ontario
Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty has been slated to speak
with business and community leaders of the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo
Chamber of Commerce on Thursday September 5.
“Dalton
McGuinty owes employees and employers some answers.
If his Party doesn’t agree with our labour policies
on replacement workers and democracy in the workplace,
even in the case of a strike that lasts well over a
year, he should try to explain how his labour platform
is any different than the regime we inherited from the
NDP,” declared Mr. Arnott.
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