The Honourable Shawn Skinner, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, said a joint effort between the Provincial Government, business and labour is underway to review the province�s collective bargaining legislation.

Minister Skinner said the Labour Relations Agency is working with the Employment Relations Sub-Committee (ERSC) of Strategic Partnership Initiative (SPI) to ensure a collaborative, fair and balanced approach is taken in moving the review process forward. The ERSC includes representatives of the Newfoundland and Labrador Employers� Council, the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour and the Labour Relations Agency.

"As the minister responsible for labour relations I want to ensure that before we reach the stage of proposing specific amendments, we see to it that a fair legislative review process occurs and a balanced approach is undertaken that best reflects the interests of both workers and employers in the province," said Minister Skinner. "This is the first broad review of labour legislation in the province in some time."

Initial meetings of the ERSC have been held and these sessions will continue over the coming months. Minister Skinner said he recognizes there are many issues of interest and importance to stakeholders and expects these to be raised during the discussions.

While there has been concern expressed recently regarding possible legislative amendments specific to replacement workers, Minister Skinner assured the public and the labour relations community that no decisions have been made to this point on any changes. The minister indicated he is confident that successful progress can be achieved through the current review process similar to the work undertaken by the ERSC last year in bringing forth a series of consensus amendments aimed at improving the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the province�s Labour Relations Board.