Page 12 - Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario

The indirect impact of collective bargaining on with a third wave of COVID-19 infections, it is fair to
segments of the industry that have no worker say that public health authorities and governments

representation is very positive because it places around the world are grappling with efforts to
upward pressure on open shop employers to pay contain the spread of COVID-19 to protect the safety

their construction workers higher wages than they and health of their citizens.

would have paid if they did not have to compete
with unionized employers, to attract workers. This In the province of Ontario, Premier Doug Ford

phenomenon is most accurately captured by the declared a provincial State of Emergency on March

aphorism that says that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats,’ 17, 2020, implementing wide-ranging closures of
preventing a potentially harmful race to the bottom all non-essential businesses. The announcement

in Ontario’s construction labour market. also included businesses that were deemed

‘essential’ to keep operating, including those in
How has Ontario’s construction the construction industry. At the time, construction

industry responded to the industry stakeholders were immediately consulted

Coronavirus pandemic? by the provincial government on what would be

As we approach the second quarter of 2021, dealing needed to keep the industry open. The number one

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