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April 11, 2018 TORONTO – Unifor National President Jerry Dias will lead a delegation of auto workers to meet with Ontario Labour Minister Kevin Flynn about personal emergency leave exemptions that unfairly punish those employed in the sector. “Employment standards should be fairly applied to all workers - full stop,” said Dias. “Auto workers have the same need for personal emergency leave as everyone else, they too have family members to mourn and care for. The double standard right now of the regulation must be fixed.” Ontario’s Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act approved by the government currently allows workers 10 days of personal emergency leave with two paid days for illness, injury, bereavement or other emergencies. However, under an exemption, auto workers are excluded and only entitled to seven days for personal or family illness or emergencies and three days for bereavement, with none of the leave being paid. WHAT: Unifor auto delegation to meet Ontario Labour Minister WHERE: Whitney Block 99 Wellesley Street West, Toronto WHEN: Thursday, April 12 2:00 p.m. ET WHO: Unifor National President Jerry Dias, and Unifor members from GM (Local 222 - Oshawa), Fiat Chrysler (Local 444 - Windsor) and Ford (Local 200 - Windsor) who will be joined by Honda and Toyota workers “In addition to lobbying the government, Unifor also has the ability to address this unfair regulation through collective bargaining. However, thousands of auto sector workers are not covered by collective agreements and we intend to bring their voice to tomorrow’s meeting with Minister Flynn” said Dias. At the end of December when the exemption was confirmed by the government Unifor launched a campaign to advocate for fairness. To date, the Union has collected more than 5,000 signatures on a petition calling on the Ontario government to eliminate the personal emergency leave exemption for auto workers. To view the petition click here Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future. To book an interview with Jerry Dias please contact Unifor Communications Representative Kathleen O’Keefe at @email or 416-896-3303(cell).
