Significant Changes to the Employment Standards Code, A Highlight of Remember when the @UCPCaucus removed overtime pay for workers in Alberta? Unions will have until July 31, 2022 to provide employees an opportunity to choose whether to pay non-core dues. You will NOT receive a reply on your feedback. The Labour Relations Code would be amended to allow the Minister of Labour, instead of the Provincial Cabinet, to have the power to approve major project agreements. Alberta introduces labour bill to change overtime pay, reduce youth Major changes for Alberta with Bill 32 | Canadian HR Reporter From free speech to bargaining rights to workplace health and safety, laws in Alberta are being tilted against workers and threaten to make employers more powerful than ever. Employees would need to work for five hours before qualifying for a 30 minute break. All of this will have a chilling effect and it will discourage workers from voting the way they really want to vote; which, of course, is the UCPs actual goal. Types of jobs include light janitorial work in offices, coaching and tutoring. Additional changes include, an HWAA no longer requiring an end date, and more flexibility to employers to determine how and if daily overtime applies. Agreements not part of a collective agreement cannot last for more than two years and must have a start and end date. Changes to Alberta Employment Law. Again. - LawNow Magazine The stated purpose of the Bill is to support economic recovery, restore balance in the workplace, and get Albertans back to work. the union is unable to provide reasonable alternate employment; and. Under the proposed new rules, the Board would be required to complete inquiries and consideration of an application as soon as possible, and no later than six months after the application is filed. We do. An employer and union can agree to alter employment standards rules such as hours of work, notice of work times, days of rest and overtime hours under hours of work averaging arrangements. The proposed legislation provides that employees continue to accumulate vacation time while they are on a job-protected leave of absence. Whats happening here is that the UCP is giving themselves new tools to use against workers and citizens should they choose to mobilize strikes or protests against the UCPs agenda of cuts, privatization and polarization. Miller Thomsons Labour and Employment Team would be pleased to discuss these proposed changes to the legislation and the impact that they could have upon your business. "Jason Kenney has taken millions of dollars in overtime pay from workers and gifted it directly to employers," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. Employers can pay employees their final pay: Employers will not need to include vacation pay and general holiday pay in the average daily wage calculation. Unions cannot discipline employees if they take significantly different work from a different employer. Changes to the major project rules would also allow: Under the proposed legislation, arbitrators would no longer have the power to provide relief from the grievance procedure time limits that are set out in collective agreements, which was a change implemented by the previous Government in Alberta. Collective Agreements: Employers and unions will be able to renew a collective agreement before it expires if employees give their informed consent. We do not warrant its accuracy. Picketing would be deemed wrongful when it obstructs or impedes a person from crossing a picket line. No "Balance" Here: Bill 32 tips the scales against working Albertans Extending hours of work averaging to such an extreme length suggests the policy goal is to minimize overtime costs for employers and rob workers of earnings. This disproportionately affects workers in O&G sectors. The changes will no longer differentiate between termination of employment by employer or employee, or whether termination notice or pay was required. This part of the Bill is designed to demonize and defund unions, plain and simple. The changes would require the new union, in most cases, to adapt to the terms of the existing collective agreement, unless the union successfully applies to the Board to amend terms of the agreement that they are unable to abide by. The averaging period for an HWAA will increase from 12 to 52 weeks with the ability to request a further extension. Significant Changes to the Employment Standards Code, A Highlight of Download Fightback Factsheet #4 - Bill 47 and Safety Training. If employees in the construction sector choose a new union, the existing collective agreement will still apply until it expires. employees then vote to enter the new collective agreement. period. If employers break rules, they may receive a penalty, but the amount could be adjusted on a case-by-case basis. Join our Defend Worker Rights campaign. All certification and revocation timelines would be removed. The new legislation provides a number of changes to the Boards powers. These timelines have been criticised as arbitrary and inflexible. Bill 32: Alberta's proposed <i>Restoring Balance in Alberta's financial contribution or other support by the employer to a union. As the name suggests, this framework currently requires the consent of employees to implement; it is an agreement between an employer and its employees. This is known as the reverse onus rule as the employee is not required to prove the action they are complaining of; instead, the employer must prove the unfair labour practice did not occur. Reddit, Inc. 2023. If passed, the legislation will amend the Employment . since they won't have to give notices for shift changes and layoffs and money since they won't have to pay workers overtime . Caron & Partners LLP Your Alberta Law Firm. Strategic, practical For more information, please see our The union would no longer be able to penalize a union member for taking a job outside of the union if: A number of changes would impact the construction industry specifically, including the following. The UCP government has created handy Bill 32 fact sheets that explain the new changes. Employers can more easily hire 13 and 14-year-olds for certain types of jobs because they will not need to get a permit first. Non-eligible employees The following employees are not eligible for overtime hours and overtime pay: managers, supervisors and those employed in a confidential capacity General Counsel for Professional Regulatory Organizations, External Reviews of Professional Regulators, Employers may deduct from employees pay overpayments and vacation pay provided to employees in advance of being entitled to it without written authorization from the employees, Employers cannot, however, make such deductions if more than sixmonths have passed since the overpayment, Employers must still provide written notice to employees prior to making the deduction, but authorization from the employees is no longer required, Employers can impose an averaging agreement for hours of work as opposed to obtaining employee agreement, as long as the group of affected employees are not bound by a collective agreement, Employers must give at least twoweeks written notice of a requirement to work an averaging arrangement, unless otherwise agreed, Bargaining agents may agree to an averaging arrangement as part of a collective agreement, If there is no collective agreement in place, averaging arrangements must be in writing, The effective period of averaging arrangements can last from 12 weeks to 52 weeks, Employers must provide a schedule that sets out the daily and weekly hours of work under the agreement, subject to amendment by the employer in accordance with the averaging agreement, Employers may change employee shifts without providing 24 hours written notice and eight hours of rest between shifts if different notice or hours of rest provisions are agreed to under a collective agreement, Employees who work a shift of more than 10 hours are entitled to a second rest period of at least 30 minutes, which may be paid or unpaid, The timing of an employees second rest period is in the sole discretion of the employer, subject to any agreement reached with the employee, Daily wages for general holidays are now calculated by averaging the employees wages by either the four week period before the general holiday, or the four week pay period before the general holiday, at the employers discretion, Periods of leave are explicitly included when calculating an employees years of employment for the purpose of their entitlement to vacation time, Employers no longer need to provide notice of termination under section 137, which provided for varying periods of notice depending on the number of impacted employees in a group termination, Timing requirements concerning temporary layoff notices are removed, The layoff period is increased permanently to 90 days withina 120 day period, This increase does not impact the 180 day lay-off period instituted in the context of COVID-19, which remains in force, Following a termination, employers may pay employees their final pay 10 consecutive days after the end of the pay period in which they were terminated, or 31 consecutive days after the last day of employment, rather than within three days of the employees termination, The notice period required for a group termination of over 50 people is reduced to fourweeks, Allow a Chair or vice-chair to sit alone to decide certain issues such as investigations or supervising votes by secret ballot, or in the event it is deemed necessary by the Chair, Permit the Labour Relations Board (Board) to order another representation vote, only certify a trade union as a bargaining agent if no other remedy or remedies would suffice, and conversely refuse to certify a trade union if the Board believes other remedies could be sufficient, The Board may dismiss a complaint regarding fair representation where the Board determines a fair and reasonable settlement offer was made, Employers only bear the reverse onus of proof in instances of dismissal or discharge, New reverse onus for unions in cases where there is evidence of intimidation or coercion, or where the provisions regarding opting-in of union dues are breached, Introduce requirement for union members to opt in to having a portion of dues go to political or other activities, Require unions to prepare financial statements that detail the trade unions affairs to each member, Allow the Board to stop the collection of union dues during illegal strikes, and order an employer to pay union dues during illegal lockouts, Failure to pay these dues during an illegal lockout may be collected from the employer by way of a civil action, Extend the timeline for the Board making its final decision to grant certification to sixmonths after the date of application, with the potential for extensions of this timeline by the Chair a significant extension from the previous limit of 20 working days, Trade unions may apply for certification in more than one trade jurisdiction, Introduce restrictions on strikes and lockouts until a mediator is appointed and the cooling-off period has expired, Institute new limits on secondary-site picketing, eliminating unions abilities to picket at secondary sites unless permitted to do so by the Board, The Board is empowered to either permit secondary site picketing, determine which locations may be picketed at, and make other restrictions in regards to how picketing is carried out, Picketers may not block or delay someone from crossing a picket line, Terminate the binding arbitration process for post-secondary institutions, despite such process being agreed to in collective agreement, This termination includes ongoing arbitrations, and voids any awards issued, Allow the Board to order that non-post-secondary disputes be resolved through arbitration, and no longer consider whether unfair labour practices occurred in the consideration of this choice, Instead, the Boards decision to order arbitration will focus on a partys refusal to bargain collectively, recognize the authority of the other party, and failure to make reasonable effort to conclude a collective agreement, Remove arbitral discretion to provide timeline extensions in the grievance or arbitration processes, Allow the Board to set aside awards of arbitrators, remit a matter back to the arbitrator or a different arbitrator, and stay proceedings before an arbitrator, Eliminate legislative reasonableness as the standard of review, and re-institute standard appeal provisions, Institute compulsory arbitration for collective agreements relating to major construction projects. Significant Changes to the Employment Standards Code, A Highlight of Ministry responsible: Labour and Immigration. Focus areas Employment law Major changes for Alberta with Bill 32 Life may be easier for employers with alterations around overtime pay, mass dismissals, pay deductions and union dues By John Dujay 31 consecutive days after the last day of employment. This is the opposite of democracy. The summer pandemic has also provided him an opportunity to move quickly while other news captures the headlines and workers are tied up with health and financial issues. An unfair labour practice includes: Remedial certification already exists under the Labour Relations Code. Employers may have to suspend employees payment of union dues during an illegal strike. Significant Changes to the Employment Standards Code, A Highlight of The proposed changes would also allow the Board to hear more cases with the Chair or Vice-Chair sitting alone, as opposed to a full panel of Board Members. In the event of an illegal lockout, employers could be required to pay employees union dues. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. However, the applications should be processed as soon as possible, and no later than 6 months after the date of application. The Labour Board may review awards only in special circumstances. It permits overtime pay or time-off entitlements to be averaged over a 52-week . Privacy Policy. no other remedy would be sufficient to counteract the effects of the employer or unions conduct. It also includes some jobs in the food service industry if the youth is working with someone 18 or older and has their parents consent. This will effectively be the end of overtime as we know it for non-union workers in Alberta, says Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan. For shifts between five and 10 hours, at least one 30 minute break would be required. This site is a resource for workers who want to protect their rights at work. Typically, workers spouse, adult interdependent partner, or dependants covered under the workers health benefit plan were also eligible for continued coverage after the accident. Extending hours of work averaging to such an extreme length suggests the policy goal is to minimize overtime costs for employers and rob workers of . Most significantly it removes the requirement that an employee consent to an averaging agreement and allows the employer to unilaterally impose one. The Bill was introduced on July 7, 2020 with the intention of providing clearer and more transparent rules, and reducing red tape for employers bringing employees back to work. And, as a result of Bill 32, that request will be granted. Legislationspecifies when remedial certification can be used, such as when no other remedy is sufficient to counteract the impacts of the employers misconduct and the true wishes of employees cant be determined. Documents can be requested in alternative/accessible formats by [email protected], Fighback Factsheet Issue #7 Bill 32 and overtime averaging, Fightback Factsheet Issue #7 Bill 32 and Overtime Averaging. But, in reality, theyre thumbing their nose at the labour movements robust internal system of representative democracy, which has traditionally been used to decide spending priorities, says McGowan. Youth in the Workplace: The list of jobs available to youth aged 13-14 years old will expand to include positions in the restaurant industry, light janitorial work, coaching and tutoring and will no longer require a permit, provided the youth workers are working with someone at least 18 years old. Status: Bill 32 received royal assent on July 29, 2020 and our More than 5,000 responses were gathered from Albertans during our employment standards engagement. The UCP government has adopted legislation that, among other things, severely limits the bargaining and picketing rights of unions and aims to defund our public campaigns. You have a right to refuse to perform any work you think will injure you or your fellow workers, but Bill 47 rolls back your right to refuse unsafe work: Download Fightback Factsheet #1 - Bill 47 and The Right to Refuse Unsafe Work, Alberta Bill 1: Silencing the Government's Critics. Together, we can help all Albertans understand that a healthy economy and a healthy democracy depends on regular working people having rights, both in the workplace and on the political stage!Sign our Defend Worker Rights petition to join the fight! Passed this week, Bill 32 the Restoring Balance in Albertas Workplaces Act, is the UCP governments undemocratic, anti-worker law that will enact sweeping regressive changes on Alberta workers and workplaces. Download Fightback Factsheet Issue #8 - Bill 32 and Arbitration. This new section divides all union spending into two buckets: bucket A, which includes collective bargaining and grievance handling; and bucket B, which includes everything else (organizing, education, lobbying, public and political advocacy, work with allies, support for charities, etc. Industrial unions will be able to form all employee units by representing all employees who work for the same employer, regardless of their trade. Unions would also be required to get approval from the Labour Relations Board before picketing somewhere other than the employers business. August 25, 2020 By Patrick Trudel The Legislative Assembly in Alberta has passed Bill 32 - the Restoring Balance in Alberta's Workplaces Act, a significant piece of legislation comprising amendments to employment laws in Alberta. Under Bill 32, the Code will permit an employer unilaterally to implement a written averaging arrangement for employees not covered by a collective agreement. The changes aim to provide employees and employers with clearer and more transparent rules promoting fairness and productivity in the workplace. An averaging agreement can be in a collective agreement. In other words, these will NOT be secret ballot votes. An averaging arrangement can average hours of work over up to 52 weeks without a variance or exemption. Fighback Factsheet Issue #7 Bill 32 and overtime averaging In an effort to alleviate some of the burden for employers in Alberta, the United Conservative Party (UCP) government promised to cut red tape and provide businesses with breathing room in a province that has been wracked by an economic downturn in the oilpatch and the COVID-19 pandemic. Alberta Government Makes Significant Changes to Workplaces Through Bill 32 Employers can negotiate with employees how to handle schedule changes or missed shifts but employees must get 8 hours of rest between shifts if there is a schedule change. Averaging Arrangements: Employers of non-unionized employees may impose an averaging arrangement . Under the proposed legislation, unions would be required to get approval from the Board before engaging in secondary picketing. Hours of work: An hours of work averaging agreement (HWAA) allows employers to average an employees hours of work over a period of one to 12 weeks for the purpose of determining the employees entitlement to overtime pay or, instead of overtime pay, time off with pay. renegotiation of major project agreements, with disputes to be settled by arbitration. the employment does not threaten the unions legitimate interests. Spread the word, Alberta Bill 32: Trump-style Labour Law Comes to Alberta. On July 29, 2020, Bill 32, the Restoring Balance in Alberta's Workplaces Act ("Bill 32") received Royal Assent.. Bill 32 proposes several key changes to Alberta's Employment Standards Code and Labour Relations Code.This post outlines the most significant changes. Currently, the Employment Standards Code states, When an employee is absent from work, an employer may reduce the employees vacation and vacation pay in proportion to the number of days the employee was or would normally have been scheduled to work, but did not.. It could be used to target workers who support the union by denying them shifts or promotions. The trouble is, the fact sheets misrepresent the changes with words like simpler or more flexible and declare that these changes that take away worker rights will somehow magically create jobs. Once again, this is profoundly undemocratic and it reflects an authoritarian approach to governance that is completely at odds with Canadian law and Canadian political traditions.. Bill 32:Restoring Balance in Albertas Workplaces Act, was introduced in the Alberta Legislature on July 7, 2020. The calculation can either be the total wages averaged over the number of days they work in (a) the four weeks immediately before the general holiday, or (b) the four weeks ending on the last day of the pay period that occurred just before the general holiday. Learn more about the radical changes to workers' rights in Alberta. 2023 Miller Thomson LLP. Bring back overtime pay for our hard working Albertans. Bill 32. Here is a summary of some of the more radical changes proposed in Bill 32: Most of the changes proposed in Bill 32 are unprecedented in Canada.
