Andrew: Ford government should be ashamed of using scab labour as ACTRA workers continue to be locked out

QUEEN’S PARK – Jill Andrew, Official Opposition NDP critic for Culture and Heritage, issued the following statement after the Ford Conservatives failed to stand with thousands of ACTRA workers who have been unlawfully locked out or commit to not using scab labour by agencies on the Ontario government’s payroll:

“This is not working for workers. For over 500 days, ICA agencies have locked out ACTRA commercial workers trying to bargain for a fair collective agreement, instead, they are hiring scab workers. No employer should have the right to do this to workers in our province. They are taking this cruel path because they can, and this is why the Ford government urgently needs to pass Bill 90: Anti-Scab Labour Act, 2023 in the legislature.

The impact this has had on working actors and their families - many in my community - has been catastrophic. Many are being forced out of the industry, or even worse, the province due to cost-of-living pressures. Instead, during Question Period, members of the government failed to answer why they are contracting out services to employers who are locking out workers and using scab labour.

This situation is bound to have lasting effects on wages in the commercial film sector and jeopardize the established rights of all workers. Ford needs to take action and put an end to this needless lock-out that only benefits agencies who are pocketing the stolen wages of hard-working Ontarians.”