Submission

The Public Service Alliance of Canada represents the majority of federal public sector workers in Canada. We are one of the largest unions in Canada representing over 150,000 workers in every province and territory, including the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

The Atlantic Region of the PSAC represents 17, 530 members organized in 335 locals. PSAC members in the Atlantic are employed in large and small communities throughout the region. Most work for the federal government, agencies and crown corporations and an increasing number work in the private and community services sector.

As one of Canada's largest unions, the PSAC represents approximately one hundred and fifty Labour Affairs Officers who conduct inspections under Part III of the Canada Labour Code. I am therefore pleased to have the opportunity to make recommendations on the review of federal labour standard under Part III of the Canada Labour Code.

Recommendation:

The Public Service Alliance of Canada recommends that students should be covered by the Legislation. Presently student employees of the Government of Canada are exempt from the Canada Labour Code, Part III, 167 (1)(d). It is important that all workers in a Government of Canada work place enjoy all the same rights and protection under the law regardless of whether they are a student or not.

In the Atlantic Region, we have had students working for Parks Canada Agency, through a federal student work experience, who have been working in excess of eighty hours per week and only being paid for forty hours. These students were responsible for supervising and transporting youth and were at times not receiving proper lunch breaks.

Although these issues were resolved, the federal government has a moral obligation to set the example in the area of protection of workers rights as the Provincial Employment Standards Office were unable to resolve this issue. These issues are covered under Part III of the Canada Labour Code and students rights should be included.

Recommendation:

We would like to recommend an amendment to a substantive provision that deals with the protective reassignment of pregnant or nursing workers, harassment provisions under the code, and to parental leave benefits. Each of these provisions relates to work and family life issues and worker health and safety.

Quebec labour standards provides that where a pregnant or nursing employee requires reassignment due to potential harm to a fetus or child and an employer does not provide that accommodation, the worker is entitled to leave with pay. This means that a pregnant or breast-feeding woman who works in conditions that could adversely affect either her own health or that of her unborn or breast-fed child has the right to be reassigned to other tasks that are safe and reasonably within her abilities to perform. Where that worker is not reassigned, she may take a leave of absence paid for by the employer.

This practice is consistent with the obligations on employers, affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada, to accommodate workers to the point of undue hardship.

Federally, however, the situation is different. A worker who is pregnant or nursing can stop work for a very short period with pay and benefits if she believes that continuing to do her job could pose a risk to her health or the health of her child. If a risk is established, her employer can reassign her. However, where that worker is not reassigned, only leave without pay is available.

This puts pregnant and nursing workers in an untenable situation. Workers should not be required to choose between economic stability and the health of their children. The entitlement to take leave with pay as it exists in Quebec should also be included in Part III of the Code not only as a matter of affirming the law on accommodation, but also on the basis that workers in the federal jurisdiction should not be worse off than their provincial counterparts.

Recommendation:

We recommend the inclusion of a definition of employee in Part III of the Canada Labour Code. The lack of definition allows the employer to avoid its obligations when determining whether or not a worker is an employee. The definition included in Part I of the Code includes dependent contractors and we therefore recommend you consider this definition to avoid further ambiguity in the law.

Recommendation:

We recommend a provision for subsidized legal services for representation for non-unionized workers that must appear before administrative tribunals. Presently, they are expected to come forward unrepresented and file a complaint, participate in a legalistic setting of an administrative tribunal without protection afforded under Part III of the Canada Labour Code. Many of these workers are racialized who need protection because of their vulnerability.

Recommendation:

The PSAC would like to recommend enhancing the enforcement and compliance of Canada Labour Code Part III. There needs to be increased resources allocated for proactive inspections so that the Code can be used as a preventative tool. We need to create opportunities for follow-up visits for effective compliance to identify violations who should be prosecuted under the Code. Currently, prosecutions for violations of the prohibition sections of the Code are non-existent, therefore, violating provisions if the Code carries no real sanction.

Secondly, the burden of proof to establish non-compliance on the prohibition sections is too light. The burden of proof to establish a violation of any of these sections is that of a criminal text. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt v.s. the standard in other administrative tribunals which is balance of probabilities. Our recommendation, therefore, is that disputes of this nature should be adjudicated by administrative tribunal rather than in provincial court.

Finally, in closing, I thank you for allowing me the opportunity to submit recommendations to the Federal Labour Standards Review Commission.

Jeannie Baldwin, REVP - Atlantic
Public Service Alliance of Canada
287 Lacewood Drive, Suite 301
Halifax, NS B3M 3Y7