N.S. legislation to ban certain work stoppages

Select employers would be able to enter into agreements which would prohibit lock-outs and labour stoppages.

Certain Nova Scotia employers may soon be able to enter into agreements which ban lock-outs and labour stoppages after new legislation was introduced on Wednesday.

Amendments to the Construction Projects Labour-Management Relations Act apply to developers of large construction projects within the province worth $2 billion or more.

Labour Minister Kelly Regan said she hoped the change would encourage future development of major projects and said it was instigated by both employers and workers alike.

“The current act is more than 40 years old,” she said. “The department was asked by industry, and that's employer and union organizations together, to look at the act and make some revisions.”

The legislation would also provide a mechanism through the Labour Board to resolve any issues that may arise under the Act.

Brad Smith – the executive director of Mainland Nova Scotia Building Trades – says these types of project labour agreements are common across the country and help ensure job stability.

“A lot of our workers on a regular basis work on these types of projects across the country and ... we are just trying to do what's being done in the rest of the country,'' said Smith, whose organization represents roughly 11,000 industrial construction workers.

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