Changes Introduced to Employment Standards Code

MFL president welcomes "long overdue" changes.

In the legislature on November 17, the Manitoba Government introduced changes to the Employment Standards Code. According to Labour and Immigration Minister Nancy Allan the changes will modernize the act to better reflect the current realities of the economy, the changing face of the labour force and the demands on today's families.

The amendments to the code are based on unanimous recommendations made by the Labour Management Review Committee (LMRC) which had been asked in 2005 to conduct the first public review of the code in about 30 years to gather input on ways to improve and update the legislation. The review generated over 100 submissions from workers, employers and stakeholder groups throughout the province and highlighted the need for substantial renewal of the code. MFL president Darlene Dziewit is chair of the LMRC Labour Caucus.

"This new legislation has been a long time coming, and will keep Manitoba competitive with other provinces," Dziewit says. "In todays labour shortage that's important. This is a step in the right direction for vulnerable working people - particularly those in precarious employment situations and who have no union to act on their behalf. Organized labour will continue to identify and promote further improvements to the Employment Standards Code. The consultation process that brought us to this day was a good one - and it shows in the results."

The changes are of particular importance to the roughly two in three workers who have no union. Unionized workers with collective agreements usually far exceed the minimum standards of legislation. And those who are not unionized often tend to be the most vulnerable workers - women, new immigrants, young workers and aboriginal workers.

The new legislation contains better protection for part-time workers, such as making it easier to qualify for statutory holiday pay, better protection and coverage for domestic workers and better guarantees for minimum call ins. All workers will have the right to time off without pay to tend to family responsibilities or for bereavement leave.

There are protections for young workers which will prohibit those under 18 from working alone at night. Employers will no longer be able to make deductions from employee pay cheques where there is no direct benefit to workers. This is very much a safety issue. Employers in the hospitality sector will not be able to make a deduction from an employees' pay cheques when customers 'dine and dash' or 'gas and dash'. Employees, especially the young ones who are more likely to work in this sector, will often try to intervene with the 'dashers', putting themselves in danger. In British Columbia, a young worker was killed in a 'gas and dash' incident when he chased the dasher.

The LMRC is still working on coverage for agricultural workers, but has not yet completed their consultation with the stakeholders. That process will will be discussed more by LMRC in the coming months.

"All in all, the changes are good," Darlene Dziewit said. "We would have liked to see more, such as having the family responsibility and bereavement leaves to be with pay, and we would have liked to see more benefits for part-time workers - but we will continue to push for these things."

If you would like more details of the changes to the Employment Standards Code that have been put forward in the Manitoba Legislature, click here for a PDF of the government news release and a "backgrounder" outline of the proposed changes.