Local MPP calls Ontario Labour Relations Board ruling ‘unfair & unjust’

The region has been deemed a ‘construction employer’ thanks to a handful of small jobs regional employees completed in 2012. Because of the region’s role in fixing a broken toilet handle, erecting a garden shed, and installing a sign – the Ontario Labour Relations Board has handed down a significant ruling.

The region must use one specific union for all future projects, after a certification application was filed by the Carpenters Union.

“Because Ontario’s labour laws don’t include a definition for public-sector employers, municipalities, like Waterloo Region, can be unionized under the same rules as construction companies if the labour board finds that the municipality has performed “construction work,” even if it’s as minor as fixing a toilet handle.”

Kitchener Conestoga Conservative MPP Michael Harris also tells 570 News that the ruling is ‘unfair, unjust and flat-out wrong.’

“I attempted to fix this legal loophole last year when I tabled my bill, ‘the fair and open tendering act’ supported by both unionized and non-unionized construction companies. It was endorsed by the City of Kitchener, the City of Waterloo, our own region.”

The bill was voted down – Harris says the Liberals and NDP ‘are more concerned about advancing the agendas of special interest groups.’

Later this year, the Board will determine which union will work on the Regions’ projects.

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