Unifor welcomes Ontario's Public Consultation on modernizing Ontario's labour laws

TORONTO, Feb. 17, 2015 /CNW/ - Unifor welcomes today's announcement from the Ontario Ministry of Labour that it will be taking action to modernize Ontario's labour laws. The province announced the launch of a public consultation that will focus on modernizing employment standards and labour relations in the province.

"Work has changed and the laws protecting workers must change," says Katha Fortier, Unifor's Ontario Regional Director. "Jobs and the labour market in Ontario look very different than in previous decades but our current labour law does not reflect those changes."

Jobs have become less secure and more precarious. Recent research suggests that up to half of workers in Ontario will experience some degree of "precarity" in their working lives; they will do temporary work, part-time work, contract work or work for themselves. Traditional full-time, permanent employment with benefits is becoming increasingly rare.       

"This is an excellent opportunity for labour, business and government to come together and make important changes to Ontario's labour law that could have a profound and positive impact on tens of thousands of working people in Ontario," said Fortier.

In October, Unifor hosted a 'Good Jobs Summit' in Toronto, which brought together stakeholders from government, business, community and labour.  The Summit, which examined the rise of precarious work across the country, concluded that increasing the number of 'good jobs' in Canada was possible, and that legislative reform was a necessary first step.     

"It is important that our labour and employment laws reflect the new realities of the job market and the workplace," says Fortier. "Modernizing Ontario's labour and employment laws is one part of the solution; collective bargaining is also an essential part of a well-functioning labour market, as it helps to ensure jobs become 'good jobs'."   

Unifor will be participating in the public consultations which launch in the spring.

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing more than 305,000 workers. It was formed Labour Day weekend 2013 when the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unions merged.

SOURCE Unifor

please contact Unifor Communications Representative, Sarah Lesniewski, at 416-578-4293 or [email protected]