Alan Pickersgill’s column is misleading (Tribune, July 3).

He intimates that giving workers the right to opt out of collective agreements and paying union dues will result in employers opting out of providing statutory holiday pay and firing employees at will.

The reality is that there is a lot of legislation out there to protect employee rights, including the Employment Standards Act (ESA) and the Human Rights Code. The ESA requires employers to provide statutory holiday pay and provides for termination and severance pay in cases where an employee is terminated without cause.

Non-union employees can file a complaint at no cost through the Employment Standards office if they believe that their employer has breached the ESA, and an ESA officer will investigate the allegation and order a remedy where appropriate.

Most employers recognize the importance of rewarding and retaining good people and will do the right thing by them, without any third party reminding them of their legal obligations.

Miranda Corman
Guelph