Union leaders in Ontario are forecasting a labour war after the government introduced proposed changes to the province’s labour laws.
The Labour Relations Amendment Act, 2000 will require the posting of information packages outlining how to dissolve a union in unionized workplaces.
The legislation also changes the window for decertification of a union from 60 to 90 days and would require separate votes for ratification and strike action in first-contract situations.
The amendments also introduce a 12-month cooling off period between the time when a union drive can begin again after a failed attempt.
“Many employers are telling us that the productivity of the workplace is affected by repeated, unsuccessful union drives,” says Labour Minister Chris Stockwell, who acknowledged the changes were in response to demands from business.
While Stockwell hailed the new legislation as a commitment to strengthening workplace democracy, union leaders warned the government is “igniting a war” on organized labour in the province.
“Why would you do that? Why would you light a stick of dynamite in an economy that is booming? It doesn’t make any economic sense,” says Leah Casselman, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
The proposed legislation would require union officials earning more than $100,000 annually to disclose their salaries and benefits and would allow employers who do not sell construction services like municipalities, and school boards, to tender their work on construction projects to non-union contractors.
Union officials fear the legislation will leave vulnerable workers in the province unprotected.
“It’s about saying, ‘We don’t want the labour movement to expand, we don’t want to be able to raise the standard of living for ordinary working people,’” says Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
The new legislation is far tamer than suggestions put forward earlier by the government, which included eliminating the requirement that all workers in a unionized workplace pay dues regardless of whether or not they want to be part of the union.
The Labour Relations Amendment Act, 2000 will require the posting of information packages outlining how to dissolve a union in unionized workplaces.
The legislation also changes the window for decertification of a union from 60 to 90 days and would require separate votes for ratification and strike action in first-contract situations.
The amendments also introduce a 12-month cooling off period between the time when a union drive can begin again after a failed attempt.
“Many employers are telling us that the productivity of the workplace is affected by repeated, unsuccessful union drives,” says Labour Minister Chris Stockwell, who acknowledged the changes were in response to demands from business.
While Stockwell hailed the new legislation as a commitment to strengthening workplace democracy, union leaders warned the government is “igniting a war” on organized labour in the province.
“Why would you do that? Why would you light a stick of dynamite in an economy that is booming? It doesn’t make any economic sense,” says Leah Casselman, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
The proposed legislation would require union officials earning more than $100,000 annually to disclose their salaries and benefits and would allow employers who do not sell construction services like municipalities, and school boards, to tender their work on construction projects to non-union contractors.
Union officials fear the legislation will leave vulnerable workers in the province unprotected.
“It’s about saying, ‘We don’t want the labour movement to expand, we don’t want to be able to raise the standard of living for ordinary working people,’” says Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
The new legislation is far tamer than suggestions put forward earlier by the government, which included eliminating the requirement that all workers in a unionized workplace pay dues regardless of whether or not they want to be part of the union.
