The federal government has published its findings from nearly a year of consultations on federal labour standards with Canadian citizens, unions, labour organizations, employers, employer organizations and other stakeholders. “We heard one strong message throughout the consultations: the way Canadians work has changed, but federal labour standards have not,” said Patty Hajdu, minister of Employment, Workforce […]
A new collective agreement for 6,500 health-care employees in Nova Scotia includes a new employee retention incentive and the option to take a payout from a long-service retirement allowance. The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union said mediator-arbitrator William Kaplan also awarded increased shift premiums for employees in the health-care bargaining unit at the Nova Scotia […]
The vast majority (91.8 per cent) of British Columbia’s government employees were covered by a registered pension plan in 2017, compared to just 17.7 per cent of their counterparts in the province’s private sector, according to a new report by the Fraser Institute. Among those covered by a registered pension, 94 per cent of government […]
Delta Air Lines Inc. employees in Canada, represented by the United Steelworkers union, have ratified a new five-year contract, which includes maintaining their defined benefit plan and improvements to their paramedical and vision benefits. “This contract represents a great achievement for our members and for our bargaining committee,” said Steven Hadden, president of the United Steelworkers, […]
Expanded leave of absence entitlements in British Columbia, including parental and compassionate leave, took effect at the end of May. The changes to the province’s Employment Standards Act allow mothers to start their maternity leave as early as 13 weeks before their expected due date, which is up from the previous 11 weeks. The province also […]
New legislation mandating equal pay for equal work will take effect in Ontario on April 1. Under the rules, casual, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees can’t be paid at a rate of pay less than full-time or permanent employees if they do substantially the same kind of work, in the same establishment; their work requires substantially […]
The issue of benefits changes at some Tim Hortons outlets in response to Ontario’s boost to the minimum wage to $14 per hour is a complex one. On the one hand, the level of outrage at a decision by some Tim Hortons locations to cut employee benefits wasn’t a surprise. The move by two locations […]
Looking ahead at economic uncertainty and legislative changes around employment standards, 2018 will be a year of complexity at the bargaining table for both employers and unions, according to a new report by the Conference Board of Canada. The report, which also draws from the organization’s latest compensation planning outlook survey, found that the top three negotiation […]
Walmart is expanding its maternity and parental leave benefits, adding a new adoption benefit, increasing its starting salary and providing a one-time cash bonus for eligible American employees in light of the new U.S. tax reforms. The expanded parental and maternity leave policy will provide full-time, hourly U.S.-based employees in with 10 weeks of paid maternity leave […]
An Ottawa labour council has set up a hotline to allow employees to report on companies that are cutting paid breaks and other benefits following Ontario’s minimum wage hike on Jan. 1. Sean McKenny, the president of the Ottawa and District Labour Council, says the council started the hotline after hearing about two Tim Hortons franchises in Cobourg, Ont. that […]