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"Repealing these bills shows that this government understands that strong unions matter. It understands that giving workers the freedom to join together and speak our minds freely is vital to the health and prosperity of our communities and our country." Larry Brown, NUPGE President
Ottawa (20 Oct. 2016) — "This is a major victory for working people in Canada," says Larry Brown, President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE).
Parliament recognizes value and rights of unions
"We worked hard to demonstrate to Members of Parliament how wrong-headed the Conservative anti-labour legislation was — legislation that restricted workers' bargaining rights, reduced health and safety protection, made it much more difficult to join a union and discriminated against unions in a way no other professional organization would be. I'm glad this Parliament has agreed that workers' rights are worth protecting."
During the evening session of Parliament on October 19, the legislation — Bill C-4: An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code which repeals the anti-labour legislation :the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, the Public Service Labour Relations Act and the Income Tax Act — MPs voted to repeal this anti-labour legislation.
Since its election in 2006, the Conservative government introduced 10 labour laws restricting or eliminating labour rights of Canadians.
Government understands that unions matter
"Repealing these bills shows that this government understands that strong unions matter. It understands that giving workers the freedom to join together and speak our minds freely is vital to the health and prosperity of our communities and our country," said Brown.
"Unions raise the standards of living for everybody, union members and non-union members alike. They reduce inequality, particularly income inequality. They protect our human rights by giving us the power to fight discrimination in all its forms, and they strengthen our democracy by increasing voter participation," he continued.
"Let’s hope this represents the beginning of a new and important era of respect for labour rights and working people in Canada by our federal government," Brown stated.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 370,000 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