Harper’s war on workers

Stephen Harper has never professed to be a fan of the labour movement and the actions of his government since winning a majority in May are showing how much hatred he really has for workers and organized labour.

The Harper government has declared a war on workers.  First Labour Minister Lisa Raitt used heavy-handed tactics against postal workers and Air Canada flight attendants by taking away their right to strike.  Now she has stated that she is considering amending the Canada Labour Code to define the economy as an essential service. 

University of Western Ontario Labour Law Professor Michael Lynk sees this as unprecedented, “All an employer would have to do is raise the specter of the economy being hurt by a strike to trigger government intervention to end the strike.”

Unionization has been a major force in creating income equality within our society, but as unionization declines so does the prosperity of the middle class and we are faced with a growing income gap or income inequality.  If Stephen Harper is allowed to continue his war on workers this growing gap will become even greater.  Stephen Harper was not given a mandate to wage war on workers.   It’s time for him to end to this assault on unions and their hardworking members and create a fair and equitable society.