3rd Reading!!!

Forwarded to me from Derek Price.

I have to say, at least someone is trying something... More then I am aware of regarding our local Rep... I have yet to see Dave Levac, jump in and coauthor an Employment bill, like he has for other causes.




February 16, 2008 Naomi Powell

THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR(Feb 16, 2008)

Employers should pay into a rainy day fund that would cover severances for workers when companies fail, says Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MPP Paul Miller.The proposal comes after recent plant closures at Genfast Manufacturing, Hamilton Specialty Bar and Amcan Castings left workers without the wages, severance and vacation pay they were owed."As the economy struggles and there's more trouble in the States, we need something in place now to protect the working people of this province," Miller said yesterday.The fund -- the focus of a bill now approaching a third and final reading at Queen's Park -- would be administered by an appointee of the lieutenant-governor. It would work like an insurance policy, with employers paying regular premiums based on the wage costs.Final details, including how much employees might contribute to the premium, have yet to be decided. Miller says most of the fine points will be worked out when the proposal goes before a legislative subcommittee. The fund would be voluntary, he added, with workers voting on whether to participate."This is a type of social safety net," he said. "This would tide people over and give them money to retrain for new jobs."About 200 workers at Brantford's Genfast Manufacturing are still owed $8 million in severance, termination and vacation pay after the plant closed last year, union officials say. Workers at Amcan Castings saw only 70 per cent of their severances covered after that plant announced plans to liquidate last fall. And 360 employees of Hamilton Specialty Bar, since revived by new owners, never received the severance pay they were owed when the Sherman Avenue North plant closed last summer.Though he agrees with the bill in principle, Bill Baker, president of the United Steelworkers local at Hamilton Specialty Bar, says he is anxious for more details. "The question I'd have is whether my workers' premiums will be set aside for them or put into a bigger pool. That fund could be drawn down pretty quickly otherwise."Conservative labour critic Bob Bailey, whose caucus voted against the bill in its second reading, argued the fund would discourage new business investment in the province by adding regulatory hurdles.