The current enforcement model of employment standards in Ontario does little to deter violations of the law: the system is understaffed, depends on workers who have experienced violations to confront their bosses, and rarely imposes penalties on employers beyond what they already should have paid. Good enforcement should make it cost – not pay –… contine reading
Archives for May 2015
‘Ontario allowing employers to fire workers without cause’: 3rd article in Toronto Star series on precarious work
The Employment Standards Act is supposed to set the minimum floor of standards for workers in non-unionized jobs. But a dizzying array of exemptions, loopholes, and gaps in the law have eroded that floor of rights and protections, and too many workers are falling through the cracks. Read this week’s article, ‘Ontario allowing employers to… contine reading
Public consultations announced for labour law Review
The Ontario government has announced the dates and locations of the first public consultations being undertaken for its review of labour laws, the Changing Workplaces Review (CWR). The dates and locations are as follows: To register to make a presentation at the consultations, email CWR.SpecialAdvisors@ontario.ca or call 1-888-868-5844. These public consultations are an important opportunity… contine reading
Precarious and low-wage work is Ontario’s new normal
Currently in Ontario, 41% of work is part-time, contract, or own-account self-employed. Precarious and low-wage work is increasingly the new normal. And yet the Employment Standards Act has not kept up with the changing nature of work, leaving workers unprotected and struggling to get by in bad jobs. This has to change. As the government… contine reading
‘Ontario employers cashing in on temporary workers’: 2nd article in Toronto Star series on precarious work
Temp agency workers get paid lower hourly wages, don’t get benefits, and can sometimes be ‘temporary’ for years at the same workplace. Ontario’s Employment Standards Act doesn’t prevent any of that. Read today’s article, ‘Ontario employers cashing in on temporary workers’, the second in a four part series. As the government embarks on a review… contine reading
Part-time & temporary workers earn lower hourly wages than full-timers doing the same jobs. Stop the Wage Gap!
The Employment Standards Act does not prevent employers from paying lower hourly wages to part-time and temporary workers. This acts as an incentive for employers to hire people on a part-time or temporary basis, instead of promoting full-time work. In January 2015, part-timers earned median wages that were only 51% of what full-timers earned, and… contine reading
Toronto Star series on precarious work: every Monday in May
As the government embarks on a review of the Employment Standards Act and Labour Relations Act in Ontario, the Toronto Star is doing a four-part series on some of the key issues facing workers in precarious and low-wage jobs in the province. The series features interviews with workers, many of them members of the Workers’… contine reading