The New Brunswick Federation of Labour is applauding a move by the provincial government to create a stand alone labour department with an appointed Minister.
Premier Brian Gallant made the announcement on Monday. Gilles LePage, is the newly appointed Minister of the Department of Labour, Employment and Population Growth.
President Patrick Colford says this is something they had in the past, “We have been pushing for this since the early 2000’s when they dissolved the Labour Minister. We have had resolutions that have come to our conventions around this and it is something the government has seen as a priority.”
Colford says they would like to see the government strengthen labour legislation that is currently in existence, and workplace health and safety will also be one of their top priorities when they begin working with Minister LePage.
He adds, “We have a long history of not having a great relationship with the government, so this is a positive thing. It is a step in the right direction. At the end of the day, we all need to be working together on a key priorities to make New Brunswick a better place to live and work.”