Nova Scotia NDP Leader Darrell Dexter has categorically ruled out repealing the province's Michelin bill if his party comes to power next month.
"I have no interest in fighting battles that happened 30 years ago," Dexter said Monday at a campaign stop in Halifax.
Passed in 1979, the so-called Michelin bill requires a union to sign up a majority of workers at all three of the French tiremaker's Nova Scotia plants, making it difficult to unionize operations.
There have been at least a dozen attempts to unionize Michelin workers in Bridgewater, Waterville and Granton over the years. All have failed.
About 3,000 people work at Michelin's three Nova Scotia plants.
In March, the company announced it had been accepted in the federal work-sharing program. About 500 employees agreed to work reduced hours over four months to save the positions of 95 flex workers in Waterville.
For this reason, Dexter praises Michelin as a good corporate citizen.
"They have worked with employees to introduce a workshare program that has minimized layoffs," he said Monday.
Dexter also pledged to increase the equity tax credit from 30 per cent to 35 per cent to help businesses attract investment.
Nova Scotians head to the polls on June 9 for the fifth provincial election in 11 years.
