FOR IMEDIATE RELEASE: November 7th, 2000

UNION ACTIVISTS TO GATHER IN KINGSTON AS PROPOSED CHANGES PUT IT "ALL ON THE LINE" FOR WORKING PEOPLE IN ONTARIO

Kingston: Union leaders and activists will gather in Kingston on November 7, 2000 at the Holiday Inn, 1 Johnson Street, to discuss the changes to the Employment Standards Act (ESA) proposed by the provincial government and discuss strategies to change the direction the government wants to go with the changes.

Wayne Samuelson, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour will be in Kingston to speak to local labour leaders and activists from Brockville to Belleville throughout the day and speak at a special Emergency Regional Meeting at 7:00 P.M. on the changes planned by Harris.

The ESA covers most workplaces in Ontario and of those about 1/3 are unionized. Historically union contracts helped shape the ESA and many refer to the act in matters of maximum hours, parental leave, and severance pay. The Harris Tories are trying to sell the changes to the ESA as an attempt to “modernize” the act. In addition to the buzz word “modernize” they use “flexible” as a means to describe the their vision of change. But the flexibility is a one-way street that enables employers to do as they please and to “de-regulate” the process of employee protection.

The proposed changes are aimed at further eroding the workplace rules that protect workers from bad bosses and are aimed at putting a gag order on the ability of unions to speak out on social and political issues. They want to get rid of the union dues check off known as the Rand formulae (a move which would make paying union dues optional). This measure would gut a union's ability to represent their members or to remain financially viable.