New labour legislation will help millions of Ontarians, says Unifor
TORONTO, Nov. 22, 2017 /CNW/ - Unifor members across Ontario are welcoming new employment law changes that will make workplaces fairer, make it easier to join a union and exercise workplace rights.
"Unifor commends the government for taking this bold action to set the province on a different path, creating a more just economy and fairer workplaces," said Unifor Ontario Regional Director Naureen Rizvi.
"Every single change in this law is the result of the hard work of thousands of trade unionists and advocates across Ontario who shared their hardship, their hopes and their expectations for a brighter future. Through this process workers decided for themselves that they can and should expect better. We mobilized and we won."
Rizvi said she is very proud of the Unifor members who have been involved in the efforts to gain changes to employment laws. Around the province the union organized townhall meetings, made deputations, lobbied, participated in demonstrations and direct actions and mobilized online to press the government and all parties to support labour law reforms. Unifor was also part of the Fight for $15 and Fairness and the Ontario Federation of Labour's partner Make It Fair campaign.
Unifor noted it was particularly pleased with the late amendment to the law, which will now see five days of leave granted to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. The union has been pushing for this legislative change for a number of years. While the union applauded this addition to the law, Rizvi acknowledged that the new legislation does not go as far as hoped, she said it will make a significant difference to all Ontario workers, whether they belong to a union or not.
The union will continue to push to ensure that card-based certification is extended to all sectors of the economy, particularly the retail sector which can be characterized by erratic, insecure work.
"From here on in, decent work should be considered the new normal for Ontario. This government has raised the bar. Any political party who does not support Ontario workers will not be getting our votes in June 2018," said Rizvi.
SOURCE Unifor
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