(Queen's Park) - MPP Randy Hillier, Ontario PC Labour Critic, introduced legislation today to defend workers’ choice. Randy was joined at Queen’s Park today with various contractors from across Ontario. The Defending Employee’s Rights Act (Collective Bargaining and Financial Disclosure by Trade Unions), 2012, is the start of a series of labour reform Bills that Randy Hillier will be introducing in the coming weeks.

“This Legislation will provide workers in Ontario the right to choose what union they want to be a part of and whether or not they want to be a member of a trade union,” said Hillier. “Freedom of association is a right provided to all Canadians. Period. This Act will remove the coercion that employees face across the Province to join a union as a condition of employment.”

If the individual decides to opt in to the union, their dues can still be remitted from their paycheque, but only for collective bargaining purposes. If a union would like to raise funds for endeavours other than for collective bargaining, they must have expressed written consent from their union members, and they must collect it voluntarily from the employee, not mandatory from the employer.

Hillier noted the abysmal growth that Ontario has seen in the past nine years of failed labour policy. “Our per capita real GDP growth has been 0.86%. That is a failure. Over 300,000 manufacturing jobs have left Ontario, many for more choice-friendly jurisdictions.” Hillier continued, “Alberta, Saskatchewan, Texas, North Carolina and Indiana are growing, their GDP and employment rates are growing. We aren’t.”

The Defending Employee’s Rights Act, 2012, will also require that unions disclose their finances to the public so union members can know where their union dues go without fear of repercussion from their bosses for asking.