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:: Monday, December 12, 2005 ::

Privacy office may appeal decision on contentious e-mails - CBC Calgary
'There's certainly a big irony, because his job is to release documents to the public and here he is, trying to keep them secret. He's sort of making people's heads spin,' McGowan said, adding that an appeal would be disappointing. 'He would be casting himself in a role which is entirely at odds to what his stated public role is supposed to be.

'Which is to promote access to information. Not keep documents secret.'

The privacy commissioner's office denies there was any government interference.

The AFL and the NDP called for the resignation of labour board members once the e-mails' contents were made public.

Bill 27, introduced in 2003, affected thousands of health-care workers in the province, tearing up existing collective agreements, removing the right to strike and reducing severance packages. It consolidated 400 local bargaining units into 36.

LEAKED LRB DOCUMENTS CONFIRM FINDINGS IN PARKLAND BOOK - Parkland Institute - Press Release
The Return of the Trojan Horse chapter points to the politicization of the Labour Relations Board as one of the mechanisms used by the Klein government to minimize the perceived strength and effectiveness of unions and workers in the province.

Hughes-Fuller articulates the logic: “By watering down the labour laws, removing the right to strike, and politicizing the body which adjudicates disputes between labour and management, the government was able to weaken the unions significantly. By weakening the unions, they were able to eliminate one of the most vocal and active opponents of planned government cutbacks, privatizations and deregulations.”

posted 4:58 AM :: reference link :: 0 comments ::

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