Modern labour laws for today’s workplace

Work is becoming increasingly precarious. The prospect of a job with regular hours, or even enough hours to support a family, seems out of reach to many. This campaign pushes for legislative changes to address the nature of work today.

Part of Unifor’s mission

Unifor was founded as a union determined to make a difference in the lives of all working people. We have been active in the politics of this country during elections, and forthright in our efforts to work with all levels of government to ensure the laws they pass help workers improve their lives.

That is why Unifor has taken an active role in the Ontario government’s current review of labour laws in the province to ensure they meet the realities of the modern workplace. The changes being proposed, however, could serve as a model for any province and for federally regulated workplaces.

Work today is becoming increasingly precarious. For more and more Ontarians, particularly our young people, the prospect of a job with regular hours – or even enough hours to support a family – seem out of reach. They remain stuck in one bad job after another, often with more than one job at any one time as they try to make enough money. They are so dependent on those jobs that they fear speaking out, as is their right, for fear they’ll lose what work they have. The barriers to joining with co-workers to form a union thwart far too many workers. And a race to the bottom across whole sectors of our economy makes getting ahead all the more difficult.

That’s why Unifor, in its submission to the Ontario Changing Workplace Consultation, proposed several changes to the Employment Standards Act to better reflect the nature of work today and to better enable workers to complain about violations of the law. Proposed changes to the Labour Relations Act would make forming a union more fair, and negotiating a first contract less adversarial. A proposal to establish sector-wide labour standards would help stop the race to the bottom on wages and benefits.

To read Unifor’s full submission to the Ontario Changing Workplace Consultation, click here.

To read a one-page Submission in Brief, click here.

To read Ontario Regional Director Katha Fortier’s letter to Ontario locals, click here.

To read Unifor’s press release, click here.

And be sure to click on the Take Action tab above to see how you can help.