CHANGES TO EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS UNDER BILL 68 = MORE BARRIERS FOR WORKERS
Proposed changes to Employment Standards under Bill 68, Open for Business Act will create huge barriers for workers who face unpaid wages. The Workers’ Action Centre and Parkdale Community Legal Services are calling on the provincial government to stop proposed changes that would bring in mandatory self-enforcement and could force workers to settle for less than what they are owed.
Proposed changes under Bill 68 include:
Mandatory self-enforcement of ESA rights
Bill 68 would require most workers to try and enforce their ESA rights with their boss before filing a claim.
Facilitated settlements
Bill 68 would give the power to the Ministry to settle claims for less than what workers are owed under the law.
Required information before a claim will be accepted
Bill 68 would require workers to provide information about their employer and arguments about their case before a claim will be accepted, without a commitment to provide support to workers filing claims.
Tag Archive: ontario
Seven hundred and fifty (750) government employees, most of which were full-time with benefits and pension plans. How many Serco DES employees are currently on strike? Well, after imposing a 15% pay cut and taking away their pensions, Serco DES has whittled down its workforce to about five hundred (500). However, they haven’t stopped there. They’ve turned formerly good jobs into marginal employment: 50% of Serco DES employees are now part-time with no benefits, with no guaranteed number of hours each week, and Serco DES is seeking to convert more employees into part-timers.
So out of the original 750 good jobs, 250 have been lost entirely. Of the remaining 500, the company has marginalized 250. That means that only a third of the original jobs remain. So, did the Conservative government succeed in creating a climate for job creation? Clearly not. The privatization of driver testing in Ontario has decimated hundreds of jobs in the province.
Which brings us to the public interest. With hundreds of jobs eliminated and marginalized, the province and the communities where these workers work(ed) have seen a decline in tax revenues. Local economies will have seen a decline proportionate to the decline in spending power of these workers. The ripple effects of job loss and job marginalization in communities are widespread. Is that in the public interest?
Keep Our Communities Safe!
A backbench Conservative Member of Parliament’s plan to dismantle the registration of rifles and shotguns in Canada became closer to reality on November 4.
That’s when 20 opposition MPs joined with the entire government caucus to send Bill C-391 (which would change the Criminal Code and repeal the long gun registry) to a committee for study before being brought back for a final vote. It was a big setback for public safety.
Heading into the final steps of the law-making process with a 27-vote lead gives C-391 a good chance of succeeding. If that happens, registration of rifles and shotguns would stop and the government would delete the nearly 8 million firearms records used today by police and other law enforcement officials.
Police use those records to keep themselves and our communities safe. Statistics show that gun registry information is accessed as often as 10,000 times a day. Statistics also show a 50% drop in gun-related spousal homicides since records started being kept.
We can still turn things around.
People who think it’s a good idea to keep track of weapons like rifles and shotguns for the sake of public safety need to have their voices heard. That’s the only way to get at least 14 MPs to change their minds about C-391 and stop it from happening.
If your MP is a Conservative, your voice is especially important. That’s because the Conservative Party has a history of strong support for public safety and the police.
It doesn’t make sense that so many Conservative MPs who represent communities where the police say they need the gun registry, and where public support for keeping track of guns remains strong, voted in favour of C-391. They clearly need to hear more about this from the people they represent.
Which is why we’re asking for your help today. We need to convince a few MPs to change their minds about C-391, and vote NO when it returns to the House of Commons for final approval.
You can help us make this happen.
Forward this message to 20 of your friends.
Ask them to do the same.
Join our Facebook page.
Tell all your Facebook friends about it.
Send a post card to the Prime Minister
about how gun control is an important part of any plan to reduce violence against women.
Tell them the law is working. Tell them that gun-related spousal homicide is down 50% since the gun registry was started. Tell them to keep our communities safe. Tell them to vote against C-391 (if you really want to get their attention, add that you won’t vote for anyone who votes in favour of C-391 come the next election).
We know there are more Canadians who support having rifles and shotguns registered for public safety than who want to see this important policing tool dismantled and all of its records destroyed.
That’s why it’s still possible to turn things around and win this one for public safety.
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Andrea Horwarth the new Ontario leader will breath new life into a struggling Ontario economy. One which workers are being attacked at all levels. Stepping into such an important role, at an important time.
We will have to count on the other leaders identified in our Ontario Party. Peter Tabuns who brings ideas of sustainable environmental progress, one which Ontario will need to develop in order to rejuvinate a crumbling infastruture and economy. Gilles Bisson who brings countless years of providing a strong voice to Northern Ontario. The ability to get the job done will only be an asset to Andrea. And last but not least Micheal Prue (Who I feel surprised many with not pulling bigger numbers) Micheal brings a great sense of bringing the whole team together. All of the Ontario New Democrats must stay united and help Ontario workers through their voices in the legislation.
Building upon the membership and changing the dynamics of support is up to the rest of the labour movement to come together and help elect more progressive, socially minded mpp’s. We begin by developing good labour leaders in our community and running them with our full support.
The future of Ontario depends on it!!
