Highlights from Ontario's Changing Workplaces Review | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Highlights from Ontario's Changing Workplaces Review

TORONTO - A long-awaited report on labour laws in Ontario was released Tuesday, recommending wide-ranging updates to workers' rights. The government has not yet said which of the 173 recommendations it will act on, but here are key suggestions it will now have to consider:

More equitable treatment

— A rule that lets students under 18 to be paid less than minimum wage — currently $10.70 per hour instead of $11.40 — should be phased out over three years.

— Ontario is one of only three provinces that pays liquor servers a smaller minimum wage — currently $9.90 per hour — which disproportionately affects women, and the exemption is an "anachronism" that should be phased out over three years.

— Part-time, casual, contract, temporary and seasonal employees should be paid the same rate as a full-time employee doing comparable work, unless justified on grounds such as seniority.

— The government should look at how to extend basic health benefits such as drug, dental, vision and mental health services to part-time, temporary, contract, casual and seasonal employees, as well as full-time employees who don't have benefits and self-employed people.

— Interns and trainees should be defined as employees and afforded the same rights.

Extend employee leaves

— Give all employees personal emergency leave, currently only available when a workplace employs more than 50 people. Ontario is the only jurisdiction in Canada with a small-employer exemption for leaves.

— Personal emergency leave is currently 10 unpaid days, but all employees should get seven days, plus three days of bereavement leave. Domestic violence should be a reason for a personal emergency absence.

— Increase family medical leave from eight weeks in half a year to 26 weeks in a full year.

— Give parents whose children die unpaid leave of up to 104 weeks, something currently only offered to parents when a child's death is related to a crime.

Strengthening inspections and protecting workers who complain

— The Ministry of Labour should allocate more resources to proactive enforcement, including spot checks, audits and inspections.

— The ministry should stop investigating each individual complaint so it can free up resources for more strategic inspection, then complaints not investigated by the ministry could go to the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

— Penalties for violations of the Employment Standards Act have not been increased since 2001 and should be boosted by differing amounts for various infractions.

— More than 90 per cent of the approximately 15,000 complaints each year under the Employment Standards Act are from workers who have already left their jobs, providing strong evidence that a fear of reprisal prevents people from reporting violations.

— Employers should be subject to a penalty of up to $100,000 if they have taken reprisal against an employee.

— Strengthen enforcement for employees owed vacation pay, wages, severance or termination pay.

Bargaining and union rights

— Extend collective bargaining rights to domestic workers, hunters and trappers, architects, dentists, land surveyors, legal and medical professionals, and farm workers.

— If an employer interferes with the process of workers deciding if they want to be represented by a union, the certification of the union should go ahead without a vote and the first contract should be decided through arbitration.

— Once unions can show that about 20 per cent of the prospective members of a bargaining unit are in favour of unionizing, employers should be required to give the union contact information for all employees.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2017
The Canadian Press

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