Media Advisory/Wednesday: OFL Organizes Mass Lobby at Queen's Park as Part of Week for Decent Work

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 5, 2016) - The Ontario Federation of Labour has organized a mass lobby at Queen's Park as part of the 'Week for Decent Work' on Wednesday, October 5, where approximately 100 workers, union activists and community advocates will meet with MPPs of all political parties. The lobby day will take place from 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

The lobby day is the first of its kind organized by the Federation in more than seven years.

The focus of the meetings will be Ontario's Changing Workplaces Review, which is currently reviewing the province's long-outdated Employment Standards and Labour Relations Acts. The OFL will be bringing in workers from across the province to talk about their experiences of precarious work, organizing to form a union, the consequences of long term labour disputes, temp agency work and the difficulty that the current jobs climate causes in making ends meet. As part of the OFL's Make It Fair campaign, participants will be engaging all political parties in conversations about the legislative changes that workers desperately need.

"This review is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to correct the path the economy is now on - which is increasingly precarious, unstable employment," said OFL President Chris Buckley. "It's important that the Ontario government and all MPPs understand what is at stake here and how a different future is possible."

Buckley said that the lobby day represents the multi-pronged approach that the labour movement and community partners such as the Fight for $15 and Fairness are taking when it comes to pushing for changes to employment laws.

"We're organizing in our communities, rallying in the streets and calling on decision makers to do the right thing for Ontario workers," said Buckley.

The OFL's www.makeitfair.ca campaign takes on issues of inequality in the workforce, and coincides with the province's "Changing Workplaces Review." The campaign gives voice to demands for across-the-board changes to the Employment Standards Act and the Labour Relations Act that would improve standards for every worker and make it easier for them to join a union.

The OFL represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca and follow @OFLabour on Facebook and Twitter.

OFL President Chris Buckley, Secretary-Treasurer Patty Coates, Executive Vice-President Ahmad Gaied and a number of worker-advocates from different economic sectors are available for comment/ interview.