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Halton Hills This Week, Saturday, November 21, 1992 — Page 7 Queen’s Park Report Noel Duignan MPP Halton North As you’ve probably heard, Ontario is one step closer to having up@ated labor laws. The reforms received third reading in the Legislature earlier this month and they become law on January 1/93. The process around bill 40, though, began more than 18 months ago. It formally started with the release of a discussion paper, followed by public hearings which were attended by more than 300 organizations. hen Labor Minister Bob Mackenzie finally introduced legis- lation on June 4/92, the package included a number of substantive changes to reflect the public input. another five weeks of public hear- ings were held during the summer recess and the government intro- duced another 55 new amendments to Bill 40. The end result is a package that is reasonable and necessary. More importantly, it reflects our current workplaces and meets our changing needs. Our workforce has changed dra- matically over the last 17 years. There are one million more women tor. And the number of part-time workers has doubled. Yet the last time any significant changes were made to the labor laws was back in 1975. Our reforms are designed to do a number of things. They aim to reduce conflict by reducing con- frontation on picket lines and defusing hostilities that linger for years. heard comments from several of you about Bill 40. What has become clear is that there are many misconceptions and much misinformation being circu- lated. I'd like to briefly talk about some of these. The reforms do not make it easi- er for unions to organize. Instead, what we’ve done is removed some of the hurdles that impede employ- ees from making a choice. There have been a lot of refer- ences to allowing secret ballots. Since 1950, unions have been per- mitted to be certified through the card system. The Labor Relations Act was created to permit automat- ic certification where more than 55 per cent of the bargaining unit had signed cards. Bill 40 doesn’t change this. A secret ballot must be taken where membership support is below 55 percent but above 40 per- cent. Similarly, the right of workers to vote on an employer’s final offer before a strike already exists. There is also much misinforma- tion about the use of replacement workers. Employers will still be able to use managers, supervisors and other non-striking employees to do the work of striking employ- ees. Similarly, employers will be able to shift these employees from one struck or locked out location to another, Bill 40 also ensures that essential services won’t be jeopardized. These services can be continued by members of the bargaining unit on strike, on.condition of an agree- ment of the unit. If an agreement can’t be reached, an employer can use newly hired Personnel or shift workers from other locations to the struck loca- tion. Our legislation also allows the Ontario Labor Relations Board to hear applications, in advance of a strike or lockout, under the essen- tial services provisions. If you want more information about Bill 40, please call my Milton office at 878-1729 or the Ministry of Labor at 1-800-267- 9517. 91 Ontario Street, et hes 416-877-9475 | BUYING A HOME? Call J. E. (Buzz) Currie 877-947: oO (rs NOT WORTH THE DRIVE TO BRAMPTON!) SUPERFLAT. SUPER BRIGHT. SUPER SOUND. SUPER TV! Display Menus, fed ‘DOME i ill Sound ‘System, Unified “VCR Remote COntrol, PC-29SF80A Panasonic 29" gore Cente SENTRY’ 2 28" TRINITRON Stereo Remote Control Color TV Staysdle pata Monitor / Receiver ‘* Unitied TVVCR Remote Control SC3835 * 28" Screen ch Cerdoach + AV Window {178 Gramma Capebity * Channel Caption Guide * Chromacolor Contrast Picture Tube '* Programmable On/Off Timer / bcbg Channel Block ype Input and Variable Audio Output $1 099 «MTS Stereo Eu ii Slate color finish. Optional }* Matrix Surround Sound Custom Stand ava Re SJ-2765S KV-27TS27 They streamline Procedures to alleviate costly and cumbersome delays. Our goal has been to promote greater dialogue, discussion and problem-solving between workers and employers. Clearly, during these tough eco- nomic times, labor and manage- ment have to work together for the benefit of everyone. Panasonic Vis Model PV-2201-K VCR A SONY. ek VHS VCR V-696HF = During the past few months, I’ve GINNY'S — AV Stereo Receiver 100 wich DIAPER SERVICE OS reoweer Si207 2-Head, On Sereen Display, Digital Zenith VHS VCR with Buin VCR 4-Head Hi, Fying Erase Head, ‘Ato Tracking, Ra , PLUS +, Auto Head Cleaning, cVvR ale hanes Insert, Digital Quartz Tuning, OTR Leaming Remote Control Shuttle Technics SA-GX330 ONY. STR-AV370 40-Watt Stereo Receiver with Remote Preset Direct Access Tuning, neciaienoee ta Sr So Dymame HOURS: & Mon. - Wed. 10-7 p.m. Thurs. - Fri. YEARS 6 elp eorgeto Txt oe: IN easy GEORGETOWN J —ypncnS e e A rae (ae NALA ‘s f (Say D A junday s 12-5 p.m. PIONEER’ @samsuno Panasonic Technics Jywm Paradigni SONY. JVC