Hudak Listened to Ontarians—Right to Work Was the Wrong Choice

TORONTO, Feb. 21, 2014 /CNW/ - CLAC applauds the decision by Tim Hudak to walk away from the anti-union agenda that would have taken Ontario backward. Hudak made the announcement at a speech to the Toronto Board of Trade this morning, telling the crowd that he would not be including controversial policies such as right to work and scrapping the Rand formula in his election platform.

"Right-to-work policies would have lowered wages and benefits for Ontario workers without a positive economic benefit," says Hank Beekhuis, CLAC Ontario director. "After working with PC Labour Critic Monte McNaughton and Hudak for months, we are pleased that they understand that the anti-union agenda is not the right path for Ontario."

Since last fall, CLAC has been meeting with members of the PC Party to convey the weaknesses of the paths proposed in their white paper Paths to Prosperity, Flexible Labour Markets. CLAC has also brought forward an alternative recommendation to modernize labour relations. The recommendation supported by CLAC would move Ontario beyond the current pro-employer or pro-union model and shift us to a new labour relations paradigm that is more cooperative and competitive.

"We need to stop swinging the labour relations pendulum back and forth and modernize labour relations in a manner that will support the collective choices of workers while creating a more cooperative and competitive workforce," says Beekhuis.

Instead of the right-to-work model, CLAC supports labour relations reforms similar to those in Competition and Cooperation: Small Steps Towards Reforming Canadian Labour Relations, a paper released by Cardus late last December.

CLAC is an independent Canadian labour union representing over 60,000 workers in a wide range of sectors―construction, healthcare, retail, service, transportation, manufacturing, and others. Based on principles that promote the values of respect, dignity, fairness, and integrity, CLAC's approach to labour relations stresses membership advocacy, cooperation, and the long term interests of the workplace community.

Image with caption: "Christian Labour Association of Canada (CNW Group/CLAC)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140221_C6462_PHOTO_EN_36992.jpg

SOURCE: CLAC

Hank Beekhuis at 1-800-268-5281 or [email protected].