While many retailers are maintaining pay and benefits for their store-based staff amid temporary closures caused by the coronavirus crisis, what about employees who are still coming into work and serving the public? Loblaw Companies Ltd. is stepping up. Following discussions with the United Food and Commercial Workers union, it’s adding $2 to the hourly […]
Nav Canada’s air navigation specialists are receiving a new end-of-career leave program and a three per cent wage increase in their new collective agreement. The workers, represented by Unifor Local 1016, voted 97 per cent in favour of ratifying the agreement. The wage increases on salaries and premiums are retroactive to July 1, 2019. The end-of-career […]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an $82 billion stimulus package to underpin several new policies aimed at supporting Canadian workers and employers during the coronavirus pandemic. “Public health should never hinge on financial considerations,” said Trudeau at a press conference on Wednesday morning. The support will come through a combination of $27 billion in direct […]
Paid leave from work is the first financial line of defence during a crisis preventing employees from coming to work. For one, it guards against the complexities of having to navigate employment insurance, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. But as the effects of the coronavirus ripple across the […]
Ontario and Alberta are making changes to provincial employment legislation to protect workers who are affected by the coronavirus. In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton proposed amendments to the Employment Standards Act that would provide job-protected leave to employees who are in isolation or quarantine, as well as to those […]
The chief executive officers of several major Canadian pension funds have joined forces with several other CEOs to ask Canadian business leaders to make the slowdown of the spread of the coronavirus their main priority. “International experience demonstrates that social distancing is the only effective method and is in the best interests of our employees, […]
As employers prepare to prevent against the spread of the coronavirus, issues of workplace and public safety will likely take precedent over privacy concerns. Employers have duties under provincial occupational health and safety laws to take all reasonable precautions to protect workers, communicate information about potential hazards and train employees on how to deal with […]
With coronavirus fears escalating, employers are adjusting their leave policies while labour groups are urging governments to reconsider paid leave provisions. This week, Walmart Inc. introduced an emergency leave policy for its U.S. employees. The retailer said hourly staff who work in a store, club, office or distribution centre will receive up to two weeks […]
British Columbia is tabling legislation that would grant up to five days of paid leave for workers affected by domestic or sexual violence. The leave would also apply to parents of a child or dependant who has been impacted by that type of violence. The legislation would amend the provincial Employment Standards Act, which last […]
Employees at the Canada Revenue Agency, represented by the Union of Taxation Employees, are set to hold strike votes throughout February as negotiations continue on wages and issues pertaining to work-life balance. While the union’s demands are numerous, Marc Brière, its national president, says it’s been too long since employees have seen any improvement in their working conditions. In terms […]