FEDELI SEEKS RESOLUTION TO ONTC LABOUR IMPASSE
December 9, 2015QUEEN’S PARK – Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli again today asked the Wynne government to get actively involved in resolving the current lockout of Unifor workers at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) during a Members’ Statement in the Ontario Legislature.
The text of Fedeli’s statement is as follows:
Thank you, Speaker. The lockout of Unifor workers at Ontario Northland is now into its fourth week, with no end in sight. A community rally is being organized this weekend, with the national heads of both Unifor and the Canadian Labour Congress planning to attend, which is an indication of the severity of this impasse.
I wrote the Premier last month asking her to personally intervene to help move the parties closer to a resolution. Not only is there no evidence she’s done this, she has not responded to my letter, which quite frankly, is unacceptable.
We’d hoped after the Auditor General exposed the government’s faulty math on the ONTC fire sale that they would provide some certainty in Northeastern Ontario surrounding the future. But this lockout has provided only more uncertainty.
The union has asked for mediation or arbitration three times – but the government has refused. The Premier doesn’t need to pass legislation, she just needs to agree to send all the unresolved items to binding arbitration under Section 79 of the Canada Labour Code.
So as the holidays approach, I ask in good faith, that the Premier, Ministers of Labour and Northern Development and Mines step in personally and move this dispute closer to resolution for the sake of our communities in Northeastern Ontario. Thank you.
Video of Fedeli’s statement can be found online here: https://youtu.be/UedMoUFCo7s