November 16, 2001

Reducing Employment Standards

The Employment Standards Review does not ask how to improve protection for workers. It does ask whether various provisions are fair to employers.

The review beings:

"PART A: Who should be covered by the act? What level of protection is needed?
Given the need for flexibility to enhance competitiveness, and the scarcity of government resources, regulated standards must be focused on workers who have a lack of options in the labour market and need protection. How can this best be achieved?"

Government's question is how to implement reductions in coverage given that government is reducing resources and creating the need to "focus" standards. Options in the Campbell government's discussion paper will reduce incomes, reduce information given to workers, and increase insecurity.

At the October 24th staged cabinet meeting, Agriculture Minister John van Dongen repeatedly attacked employment standards for agricultural workers. The Agriculture Minister said:

"First of all, we want less government. That will result in a more competitive industry. That is an area that we intend to work closely on with some of the other ministries, such as Graham's ministry, Labour. A good example there is the kind of very complex employment standards and regulations we have that are choking industries like the raspberry industry."

When John, Graham, Gordon and the gang are done, workers should contact their nearest union organizer and give the government an enormous raspberry.