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VICTORIA — The NDP government’s looming changes to the province’s labour code should stick to recommendations made by an expert review panel, and not restart a fight over the use of secret ballots for employees seeking to form a union, says the Green party.

Green leader Andrew Weaver said widely-expected labour code legislation next week should be “moderate and reasonable” if the NDP wants Green support to pass, and not a dramatic shift toward changes that will benefit the NDP’s traditional union organizations and backers.

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“What we’re trying to avoid is pendulum swings in labour policy,” said Weaver. “What happens is government changes and the labour code switches wildly from one side to the other.”

The NDP minority government needs the Green party’s three votes to pass legislation.

Weaver has long fought the NDP’s publicly-stated desire to change the current law that requires employees who want to unionize to take a vote by secret ballot, and replace it with a system called card check where a majority of union members must sign cards to certify. Card check makes it easier to certify new unions, but opponents say it can also allow intimidation.