Kenney's attacks on workers
Parkland Institute offers a two-part series detailing what is the matter with 32. They say, “By now most observers of Alberta politics have heard that Bill 32 takes direct aim at Alberta’s unions and unionized workers. They can be forgiven for not understanding the details, as much of the legislation is deeply embedded in the details of Canada’s labour relations system. It can be easy to think the law doesn’t apply to the average worker but it does. The bill also makes drastic changes to the Employment Standards Code, the law for non-union workers (which will be discussed in Part Two). But even the union amendments have the potential to affect all Albertans.”
Part one can be found here and part two here.
One of the biggest changes is to over-time pay. Those who get still get it can count themselves lucky. Plus, it’s easier to get fired now.
Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, likens the changes to our labour laws Americanized. He says it’s “about weakening the protections and bargaining power of workers so they have no choice but to accept what employers and governments give them — no matter how inadequate that might be.”
Professor Jason Foster, Athabasca University agrees. “Bill 32 is inspired by an American approach to labour and employment relations. It is the latest installment of the UCP government’s shift to a low-road economic strategy which aims to build competitiveness through low corporate taxes, low wages, poor working conditions, weak environmental standards and impatience with democratic dissent.”