VICTORIA – New Democrat leader John Horgan and labour spokesperson Shane Simpson released the following statement:

“On this Labour Day, we celebrate the efforts and accomplishments of the generations of workers who built British Columbia and who continue to be the backbone of our economy.

“Farmworkers, health care professionals, teachers, millwrights, IT developers, hospitality, resource and retail workers…every person who gets up and goes to work each day in British Columbia contributes to this great province that we all love.

“Collectively B.C. workers have changed our society.  Their efforts have given us paid vacations, the eight-hour work day, maternity and paternity leave and the weekend.

“There is progress still to be made.  In this great province, the government has chosen to cut out B.C. workers – buying foreign-built ferries for our publicly-owned ferry corporation, allowing temporary workers to be brought in for lower wages and allowing raw logs to be sent overseas instead of made into lumber and wood products here at home. The government has chosen to make life tougher for every working person by weakening employment standards legislation, tearing up contracts and defying court decisions in the interests of pursuing its own agenda. And despite the decades of progress made by workers to improve safety at workplaces, the current government’s policies have weakened enforcement and inspections, meaning workers remain vulnerable to serious injury or death on the job.

“On behalf of British Columbia’s New Democrats, we join with the millions of you across the province celebrating Labour Day. We are proud to stand as an ally of workers in every part of this province and in all sectors of our economy.  We will continue to stand with you as a strong voice for working British Columbians.”