FOR IMEDIATE RELEASE: September 19st, 2000

PRESIDENT OF THE ONTARIO FEDERATION OF LABOUR IN KINGSTON ON SEPTEMBER 19th, TO DISCUSS EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS CHANGES

Kingston: Wayne Samuelson, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour will visit Kingston to discuss the proposed changes to the Employment Standards Act by the Conservative government. While in Kingston on Tuesday September 19th, 2000, Samuelson will be taping a discussion on the Kingston Labour Council's cable TV show, “Labour's Voice In The Community”. The show will present labour's side of the issues, and is due to air later in the week.

Samuelson is not at all happy with the move by the Harris government to roll back protection for Ontario employees. “To solve the unhappy horror of public holidays, the Tories propose to make everyone work on public holidays with no substitute day off” he says, Other changes will not modernize statutory vacation law by increasing it but rather it proposes that workers take their measly two week annual vacation, a few days at a time. Instead of recognizing the right of part-time and contingent workers to basic equality under the law, these workers are completely ignored. Ontario's minimum wage earners, who have been frozen at $3,000 below the poverty line since 1995, get nothing.

Samuelson will attend the meeting of the Kingston & District Labour Council at 8:00 P.M. at the Steelworkers Hall, 206 Concession St. Kingston to discuss the issues with members from Kingston area unions.