The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, May 18, edition that the auto industry is pushing back against proposed changes to Ontario's labour laws.
The Globe's Greg Keenan writes that revisions to the laws, which include raising the provincial minimum wage to $15 an hour from $11.40, allowing union certification through the totalling of signed cards instead of holding a secret-ballot vote and changing the way temporary workers are treated, were on the agenda Wednesday for the Ontario cabinet.
Auto parts makers are speaking out as a decision nears.
If the changes being discussed are approved, "your specific [policies] will discriminate against the competitiveness of your No. 1 industry," says Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association of Canada president Flavio Volpe.
He notes that many offshore investors regard Ontario as too union friendly while neighbouring jurisdictions that compete with it for investment become less union friendly. One of the changes being proposed would move Ontario in the opposite direction, sources said.
That does not sit well with Linamar chief executive officer Linda Hasenfratz. She says she has advised the Ontario government to rethink the legislation.
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