Toronto, ON – “All the people in this room should be proud of the work they have done to make changes to Ontario Labour laws a reality but I’m here to tell you that our work isn’t done yet,” explained IAM Canadian GVP Stan Pickthall. Speaking to delegates at the 56th conference of the Ontario Council of Machinists, Pickthall said the changes to the Ontario Employment Standards Act and the Ontario Labour Relations Act which include raising the minimum wage in two stages, doesn’t go far enough. The minimum wage will increase to $14.00 per hour on January 1, 2018 and $15.00 an hour on January 1, 2019. “Why do we have to wait, we should have $15.00 an hour now,” he demanded.
“While the provisions in Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, is an improvement over what we have now, it doesn’t go far enough,” said Pickthall. “We should have card check certification for all occupations in this province not for just a select few who have openly supported the ruling Liberals in the past. Card check certification would make it easier for unions to organize in this province and it would create greater union density and that has proven to be better for the economy. We lost card check certification in British Columbia which took its toll on union density. We must continue to push for it here in Ontario. It’s absolutely critical.”
