Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Yesterday, the Government of Ontario released the long-awaited final report of the Changing Workplaces Review. The report is the culmination of almost two years of work, and marks the first serious review of Ontario’s employment legislation since the 1990s. The review is the result of the growing consensus among civil society, economists, and government that the playing field has shifted too far in favour of employers, and that the promise of stable, full-time employment has been slipping out of reach for too many.
AMAPCEO joined other Ontario unions and public interest advocacy groups to shape the agenda for reform. The full list of reforms that AMAPCEO has recommended as part of our submissions can be viewed on the AMAPCEO website.
The 420-page final report includes dozens of recommendations, many of which AMAPCEO supports. At the same time, this suite of proposals falls well short of the promised “generational” reform of Ontario labour law. And, even after two years, it remains unclear which of the recommendations the government will actually enact.
There are two major recommendations that AMAPCEO was pleased to see included in the final report:
- the proposed elimination of the unfair and outdated exemption of Crown employees from many portions of the Employment Standards Act, setting legislated minimums for the first time, including the right to overtime and minimum vacation pay; and
- the proposal to remove the outmoded exclusion of regulated professions from the right to form trade unions would be a positive step, and was one of AMAPCEO’s key recommendations. If this change is adopted, it would allow those employed as architects, lawyers, and doctors, among others, to form trade unions. In AMAPCEO’s view, there is no reason why employees in these fields should have their constitutional rights curtailed.
Like others, AMAPCEO is disappointed that the report did not address the central recommendation that would help rebalance the playing field. The report fails to recommend “card-check” certification, or the ability to form a new union on the basis of achieving petition signatures (or “cards”) by a majority of employees in a workplace. Instead, they recommend continuing the practice of requiring a petition, followed by a vote. This process is widely recognized to favour employers by allowing for anti-union intimidation campaigns to take place prior to the vote.
AMAPCEO was also disappointed that the report stops short of recommending mandatory paid sick time for all employees in Ontario. Nobody should have to go to work sick or lose pay as a result of illness.
Cabinet has reviewed the recommendations prepared by reviewers Michael Mitchell (one of AMAPCEO’s former lawyers) and John Murray, and will be announcing a formal response shortly. AMAPCEO president Dave Bulmer is writing to Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn, urging him to take swift action on the positive aspects of the report.