The rules of work are changing in Ontario and not all the players are happy about it.
The provincial government plans to introduce legislation in the upcoming fall session to update the Employment Standards Act, which sets minimum standards and terms of work in the province, but labour and employer groups alike are voicing concern over proposed changes.
Employers are leery about a plan to introduce 10 days of unpaid leave for employees, said Paul Bonifero, chair of the provincial government affairs committee for the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario. The government plans to give employees in workplaces of 50 or more people, up to 10 days of unpaid job-protected leave to deal with family crisis, personal or family illness and bereavement leave.
It could potentially be “fairly dramatic” for employers because it is not clear what parameters the government intends to set for the leave provisions, said Bonifero, a partner with the Toronto office of law firm McCarthy Tétrault. “It’s like having someone away for an additional two weeks of holiday every year. Yes it’s unpaid, but it still means you have to put someone in their chair. It will cost employers money,” he said.
Labour has some concerns of its own — the Ontario Federation of Labour has pledged to fight the government’s planned changes. Among the contentious proposals that have upset the OFL is the plan to eliminate the permit companies are required to obtain from the Ministry of Labour anytime someone works more than 48 hours a week. Instead, employers and employees will be able to negotiate their own work arrangements so long as the employee does not average more than 60 hours a week over a three-week period.
Critics say this loosening of restrictions on overtime means many Ontario workers could be forced into 60-hour weeks, at the same time other provinces and countries are moving in the opposite direction toward shorter workweeks. “If he (Labour Minister Chris Stockwell) thinks for one minute that he can just sort of slip this 60-hour work week through without one heck of a roar, he’s got another thing coming,” said Wayne Samuelson, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour.
“We should have a legislated 40-hour work week like other provinces in the country,” he said, adding research from the trucking sector has shown that people who work 60 hours in a week are 60 per cent more likely to have an accident.
Stockwell conducted a number of consultation sessions around the province late last month and earlier this month to gather input on the government’s proposed changes.
He said there will be no greater pressure on workers to log 60 hours a week. “The work week will not change, there will be no difference,” he said. The changes to hours of work are meant only to give workplaces more flexibility in designing work arrangements by removing the administrative step that complicated the process that was happening anyway.
“If they are asking for permits, most of the time that means there is already an agreement,” between the employer and employee, said Stockwell.
“If you read it, (the consultation paper that outlines the government’s proposed changes) you’ll see this can’t happen without agreement,” he said.
But in the “real world” that is irrelevant in probably 90 per cent of non-unionized workplaces where employees are afraid to challenge their employer if it’s “suggested” staff work an extra 12 hours in a week, said Samuelson.
“It is a completely complaint-driven process,” said Samuelson. “And 90 per cent of all claims are filed after people leave the workplace. What that says is that people are afraid to do that now,” he said. “The whole system is open to abuse, so rather than tighten that up, these changes go the other way.”
Stockwell admitted there could be some vulnerable workers in situations where employers may try to force them to work a 60-hour week. But he is promising to educate workers more on their rights, increase inspectors and spot audits at companies and give inspectors more power to reinstate employees.
“If they’re fired and it’s wrong, the inspector can reinstate them,” said Stockwell. He also promised to beef up penalties against employers who ignore the legislation that will ensure a 48-hour week for employees if they want it.
“If we’re fining a guy two or three times, and he’s considering it a licensing fee, throw him in jail,” said Stockwell.
The Employment Standards Act has not been changed for decades and contains conventions and procedures out of step with today’s working world, making it long overdue for an update to better reflect modern work, said Stockwell.
Bonifero agreed there was a need to update the act. But the OFL is also upset about the consultation work (or lack thereof) that the government has done in drafting the consultation paper that outlines the intended changes. A lot of people don’t even know about the proposed changes, said Samuelson.
Stockwell said the changes proposed were in response to demands of employers. “We don’t sit around and make these things up,” he said. Aside from formal requests his office has received, the numbers and types of permit requests that were being processed by the ministry indicate the need to update the act.
Some people will want to work more one week and less the next, he said. Two parents may alternate between heavy and light weeks so that one or the other can have time to be with the children, for instance.
“There are five million people that go to work every day. I think the vast majority have a good relationship with their employers. Who am I to dictate to them how they should structure their work week?” Stockwell replied.
While the OFL is not opposed to the 10 days’ leave for employees, Samuelson said his organization disagrees with the restrictions the government put in place.
“Somehow there’s this cut-off at 50 employees,” he said. “Most workers are in organizations under 50 employees. This is not some kind of great benefit for most employees,” he said.
“I think they probably have a good point there,” said Stockwell, adding he would like to consider a sliding scale of leave, perhaps giving employees in smaller organizations five days, for example.
The government’s consultation paper Time for Change: Ontario’s Employment Standards Legislation, is available on the Ministry of Labour’s Web site, www.gov.on.ca/lab/ann/00-47be.htm.
The provincial government plans to introduce legislation in the upcoming fall session to update the Employment Standards Act, which sets minimum standards and terms of work in the province, but labour and employer groups alike are voicing concern over proposed changes.
Employers are leery about a plan to introduce 10 days of unpaid leave for employees, said Paul Bonifero, chair of the provincial government affairs committee for the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario. The government plans to give employees in workplaces of 50 or more people, up to 10 days of unpaid job-protected leave to deal with family crisis, personal or family illness and bereavement leave.
It could potentially be “fairly dramatic” for employers because it is not clear what parameters the government intends to set for the leave provisions, said Bonifero, a partner with the Toronto office of law firm McCarthy Tétrault. “It’s like having someone away for an additional two weeks of holiday every year. Yes it’s unpaid, but it still means you have to put someone in their chair. It will cost employers money,” he said.
Labour has some concerns of its own — the Ontario Federation of Labour has pledged to fight the government’s planned changes. Among the contentious proposals that have upset the OFL is the plan to eliminate the permit companies are required to obtain from the Ministry of Labour anytime someone works more than 48 hours a week. Instead, employers and employees will be able to negotiate their own work arrangements so long as the employee does not average more than 60 hours a week over a three-week period.
Critics say this loosening of restrictions on overtime means many Ontario workers could be forced into 60-hour weeks, at the same time other provinces and countries are moving in the opposite direction toward shorter workweeks. “If he (Labour Minister Chris Stockwell) thinks for one minute that he can just sort of slip this 60-hour work week through without one heck of a roar, he’s got another thing coming,” said Wayne Samuelson, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour.
“We should have a legislated 40-hour work week like other provinces in the country,” he said, adding research from the trucking sector has shown that people who work 60 hours in a week are 60 per cent more likely to have an accident.
Stockwell conducted a number of consultation sessions around the province late last month and earlier this month to gather input on the government’s proposed changes.
He said there will be no greater pressure on workers to log 60 hours a week. “The work week will not change, there will be no difference,” he said. The changes to hours of work are meant only to give workplaces more flexibility in designing work arrangements by removing the administrative step that complicated the process that was happening anyway.
“If they are asking for permits, most of the time that means there is already an agreement,” between the employer and employee, said Stockwell.
“If you read it, (the consultation paper that outlines the government’s proposed changes) you’ll see this can’t happen without agreement,” he said.
But in the “real world” that is irrelevant in probably 90 per cent of non-unionized workplaces where employees are afraid to challenge their employer if it’s “suggested” staff work an extra 12 hours in a week, said Samuelson.
“It is a completely complaint-driven process,” said Samuelson. “And 90 per cent of all claims are filed after people leave the workplace. What that says is that people are afraid to do that now,” he said. “The whole system is open to abuse, so rather than tighten that up, these changes go the other way.”
Stockwell admitted there could be some vulnerable workers in situations where employers may try to force them to work a 60-hour week. But he is promising to educate workers more on their rights, increase inspectors and spot audits at companies and give inspectors more power to reinstate employees.
“If they’re fired and it’s wrong, the inspector can reinstate them,” said Stockwell. He also promised to beef up penalties against employers who ignore the legislation that will ensure a 48-hour week for employees if they want it.
“If we’re fining a guy two or three times, and he’s considering it a licensing fee, throw him in jail,” said Stockwell.
The Employment Standards Act has not been changed for decades and contains conventions and procedures out of step with today’s working world, making it long overdue for an update to better reflect modern work, said Stockwell.
Bonifero agreed there was a need to update the act. But the OFL is also upset about the consultation work (or lack thereof) that the government has done in drafting the consultation paper that outlines the intended changes. A lot of people don’t even know about the proposed changes, said Samuelson.
Stockwell said the changes proposed were in response to demands of employers. “We don’t sit around and make these things up,” he said. Aside from formal requests his office has received, the numbers and types of permit requests that were being processed by the ministry indicate the need to update the act.
Some people will want to work more one week and less the next, he said. Two parents may alternate between heavy and light weeks so that one or the other can have time to be with the children, for instance.
“There are five million people that go to work every day. I think the vast majority have a good relationship with their employers. Who am I to dictate to them how they should structure their work week?” Stockwell replied.
While the OFL is not opposed to the 10 days’ leave for employees, Samuelson said his organization disagrees with the restrictions the government put in place.
“Somehow there’s this cut-off at 50 employees,” he said. “Most workers are in organizations under 50 employees. This is not some kind of great benefit for most employees,” he said.
“I think they probably have a good point there,” said Stockwell, adding he would like to consider a sliding scale of leave, perhaps giving employees in smaller organizations five days, for example.
The government’s consultation paper Time for Change: Ontario’s Employment Standards Legislation, is available on the Ministry of Labour’s Web site, www.gov.on.ca/lab/ann/00-47be.htm.
