Inflation has hit working people hard over the last few years, and the new provincial government is taking meaningful steps to re-balance our labour laws and help workers get bigger paycheques, greater job security, and safer workplaces.

The previous government tipped the scales against working families, making it harder and harder for workers to keep up.

But the Kinew government is helping working people by bringing in new protections against employer threats and interference for workers who are looking to organize a union at their workplace. Employers shouldn’t be able to pressure and bully workers into voting against a union if they want one. And if a majority of workers sign a union application card, they should get a union.

And Manitobans want workers to be treated with fairness – both on the job and during labour disputes when workers are trying to get fair pay raises that help them deal with inflation and rising prices at the grocery store and in the cost of housing. That is why the Kinew government is banning replacement workers, to protect people’s jobs when they are standing up for their rights.

The evidence is clear that banning the use replacement workers shortens strikes and lockouts because both sides are motivated to reach fair deals that work for both sides. That’s a good thing for workers, for employers and for our economy. No one wants to see people out on picket lines for months.

It isn’t fair that employers can replace workers who are on strike or locked out and just carry on like business as usual. And employers often pay these replacement workers more than what they have been paying their unionized employees.