On Thursday June 7, OCUFA made a written submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs in support of Bill 77, an act which introduces amendments to the existing labour relations act that enhance fairness for employees.
Bill 77 is a private member’s bill that was introduced by NDP labour critic Taras Natyshak and seeks to bring about five small concrete changes to improve the labour relations climate for employees. The bill includes provisions to empower the OLRB to direct an employer to provide a trade union with a complete employee list at the union’s request; provides for representation votes to be held in a neutral site, electronically or by phone; enables parties to apply to the Minister as well as to the OLRB to request first agreement arbitration; extends successor rights rules to the contract services sector; and amends interim order for reinstatement provisions for employees who are fired during an organizing drive.
OCUFA expressed its strong support for this bill in a written submission and encouraged the committee to report the bill to the House for third reading. OCUFA’s submission contended that the provisions outlined in the bill represent a fundamentally important step toward creating an employee-friendly climate and increased union density, which ultimately works to reduce social inequality.
The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs will go through clause-by-clause reading of the bill, which must be reported back to the House no later than Thursday, November 29, 2012 for third reading.
This article originally appeared in the OCUFA Report. To receive stories like this every week in your inbox, please subscribe.