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 […]
With three confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Canada, 40 potential cases under investigation and the World Health Organization declaring the virus an international public health emergency, unions — especially those representing transport and health-care workers — are calling on employers to ensure sufficient safety measures are in place. The Ontario Nurses Union sent out […]
As this winter’s flu outbreak intensifies, small U.S. business owners are trying to keep their companies from being overwhelmed by employee absences. At Gold Medal Wine Club in Santa Barbara, Calif., any surfaces people are likely to touch, including the coffee machine, water dispenser and door knobs, are wiped down and there’s hand sanitizer on […]
The union representing Saskatoon Public Library workers has ratified a tentative collective agreement that involves improved leave provisions and wage increases. The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2669 has been in bargaining with the union since the last contract expired on Dec. 31, 2016. The new contract, covering 270 library workers at nine branches, will expire […]
Flexible working hours, paid sick leave and vacation could have a positive correlation with retirement savings levels, according to a new study. The research, led by Patricia Ann Stoddard Dare, a professor at Cleveland State University, studied 994 male U.S. workers aged 47 to 55. It found employees who are offered these time-related benefits have dramatically higher retirement […]
Unionized employees at Dearborn Ford in Kamloops, B.C. are receiving a pension boost and wage increases in a new three-year contract, which they voted to ratify earlier this week. The agreement, which applies to 43 workers represented by Unifor Local 10-B, includes a 0.25 per cent increase to employer contributions in the defined contribution pension plan, a 2.5 […]
Manitoba’s New Democratic Party and Liberal Party announced a host of worker-friendly campaign promises over the Labour Day weekend, with both parties committing to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The province’s minimum wage, one of the lowest in Canada, is currently $11.35 an hour. It’s set to increase to $11.65 on Oct. 1, […]
As Canadians face increasingly competing financial priorities while juggling busy lives at work and home, the overlap between financial worry, stress and employee health is becoming more intense. In 2018, a study published in the U.S.-based Journal of Social Service Research found employees without paid sick leave are more prone to feel stressed about their […]
Legal aid workers who are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1949 have signed a tentative agreement that includes an increase in vision care benefits, sick and vacation leave and wages. “This is not just good news for our members, it’s a major victory for our most vulnerable citizens who rely on legal aid services […]