OFL: Ontario Workers Rally to Support Bill to Ban Replacement Workers and Restore Worker's Rights in Ontario

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 30, 2011) - Ontario workers will be rallying at Queen's Park on Tuesday, March 30, to call on parliamentarians of every political stripe to support Bill 45, the Labour Relations Amendment Act, proposed by NDP MPP France Gélinas. The Bill seeks to ban the use of replacement workers during labour disputes and restore workers' rights striped by the Mike Harris government in the 1990s.

"Ontario workers are frustrated that employers are taking advantage of Ontario's lax labour laws and abusing employees by hiring temporary replacement workers. These tactics only protract and inflame labour disputes for months, and sometimes years on end, causing financial hardship," said OFL President Sid Ryan. "Ontario's labour laws are biased in favour of employers and are another part of the Mike Harris legacy that needs to go."

The rally will include union members who have been on strike and lockout, including employees of Engineered Coated Products (ECP) in Brantford who have been kept on strike for two and a half years by an employer that has avoided bargaining through the use of replacement workers.

The rally is intended to remind Members of Provincial Parliament of the lives of working families that are being negatively affected in every community by pro-employer labour laws. Workers are calling on the Ontario government to join British Columbia and Quebec in passing anti-scab legislation that would ensure fair bargaining. After the rally, Ontario workers will fill the Queen's Park gallery for the second reading vote, to see if the government will allow further discussion and debate on their basic rights. Labour leaders and affected workers will be available for comment during the rally and provide a reaction after the vote.

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario.