Peggy Nash supports locked out workers in Alma
Alma / Jan 5 2012 – Peggy Nash, NDP MP (Parkdale—High Park) and party leadership candidate joined the picket line today with workers from the Rio Tinto Alcan plant in Alma who have been locked out since December 31, 2011.
“I stand in solidarity with the 780 Rio Tinto Alcan workers and call on their employer to return to the bargaining table immediately,” said Nash.
“It is unacceptable that a foreign multinational can take over a Canadian company without having to protect workers’ rights, never mind the regional economy,” Nash added. “Rio Tinto Alcan’s favouring of sub-contractors over quality jobs in the region impacts the welfare of the whole community.”
The Investment Canada Act requires companies to show that a takeover will have a ‘net benefit’ to Canada and the local economy, yet fails to define what exactly that is. What’s more, the related approval process takes place behind closed doors.
Nash calls for an overhaul of the Investment Canada Act to include “more transparency, more public consultation, and more benefit to affected regions”.
“Ignoring the needs for these changes to the Act shows the Harper government’s refusal to protect local jobs and workers’ rights.”
Earlier this week, Nash released an itemized proposal for revising the Act:
Rio Tinto Alcan locked out its workers on December 31 as their collective agreement was expiring, just one day before corporate tax rates dropped to 15% — down from 19% in 2009, representing a 4% gift to corporations.
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