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Tell your Member of Parliament you do not support the amendments to the Canada Labour Code. Ask them to vote against the bill and help workers be safe on the job.
Ottawa (01 Nov. 2013) - The Harper government introduced its new budget implementation bill in the House of Commons revealing some of the worst, backdoor labour legislation in Canada's history.
Backdoor amendments in a budget bill seek to punish workers who refuse dangerous work
Buried deep in the 308 pages of this bill, Harper's finance minister tabled amendments to the Canada Labour Code that would make the federal health and safety law on the right to refuse dangerous work the weakest in the country and endanger the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers.
Bill C-4 will weaken the existing right of workers to refuse dangerous work. Exposure to hazardous substances likely to result in chronic illness, disease or damage to the reproductive system will no longer be a valid reason for a worker to invoke the right to refuse dangerous work.
Changes to the Labour Code threatens the health and safety of all federal workers
Imagine, knowing what we know about asbestos exposure, that a federal worker would now be unable to refuse dangerous work if his employer told him to remove asbestos from a workplace without proper safety gear?
"This legislation is turning back the clock on health and safety in this country," says James Clancy, National President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). "Next they'll be forcing workers to use a canary to see if the workplace is safe. We fought to strengthen the Canada Labour Code to protect all workers' health on the job. Not providing workers across this country, who work with dangerous material every day, the right to refuse because the conditions are unsafe is like rolling the dice with peoples' lives.
"By slipping these amendments into a budget bill, Harper is trying to pull a fast one over workers and Canadians. It must be stopped."
Conservative proposals would make the Canada Labour Code the only health and safety laws in the country that would make it legal for an employer to discipline a worker who refuses dangerous work.
Help stop this legislation from becoming law
You can help stop this now! Let your MP know what you think about the Harper government's move to endanger the lives of workers. Email your MP now. You can do so easily by going to canadianlabour.ca
More information:
Harper Government putting workers lives in danger!
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE