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 Employees
Several laws regulate labour relations. Some of them deal with workplace health and safety, and others specify working conditions. Still others regulate union activities. There are laws that apply to all workers, and others that only apply to certain groups of workers or particular businesses. Also, there are many government agencies that apply laws related to work.
In this Infosheet, Éducaloi explains how these laws work in Quebec, and gives you an idea of the role of government agencies in their application.   
In this case, you can call the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST). This provincial government organization is in charge of applying the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases, and its regulations.
The CSST can send an inspector to the worksite. The inspector can order that proper safety equipment be installed if needed. 
If you are injured while working, the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases provides that you can receive an indemnity to replace your salary until you are well. The indemnity is equal to 90% of your salary. The CSST administers this program and can help you out.
This is a violation of the Act respecting labour standards. In these circumstances, you can submit a complaint to the Commission des normes du travail. The Commission will complete a short investigation. If the complaint is valid and your employer still refuses to pay you, the Commission will sue your employer before the appropriate tribunal, often the labour commissioner-general, in your name.
Your collective bargaining agreement is the first document to check out. This is an contract signed between your union and your employer. If your employer doesn’t respect the agreement, you can file a grievance which will be submitted to an arbitrator. Under the Labour Code, a grievance is any misunderstanding about the interpretation or application of the collective agreement.
You can also consult the Act respecting labour standards. This law provides the minimum labour standards that have to be respected by all employers. So, if your collective agreement is silent on your problem, the Act might provide an answer to your question.
The Labour Code is the law that regulates the creation of unions. It provides a procedure to follow in order to get a group of workers accredited legally. The union has to be accredited in order to negotiate the working conditions of all the employees. The Labour Code includes rules about deadlines for accreditation, the representative character of the union, the number of members needed to form a union, and what happens when more than one union wishes to become accredited.
If you work in an organization covered by federal law (a bank, port, telecommunication business, etc.), the Canada Labour Code is the law that applies to you.
Yes. Under the Civil Code of Québec, there is definitely an employment contract between you and your employer, even if you never signed anything. A contract forms automatically between you and the employer from the moment you accept to work under his direction in return for a salary, and he accepts to hire you.
Yes. Even though all businesses are covered by labour laws of some kind, not all businesses are covered by the same laws. The law that applies is either federal or provincial, depending on the kind of activity that the organization engages in. This system of sharing responsibilities, where each government has the power to pass labour laws has existed since 1867, and is provided for in the Constitution of Canada.
In Quebec, most workplaces are covered by provincial labour laws, except for workplaces that are covered by federal labour law. Here are some examples of areas or workplaces that are covered by federal law:
The Québec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms protects you. No one may practice discrimination in hiring. A person cannot refuse to hire you for a reason that has nothing to do with your skills and ability to do the job. To refuse to employ someone because of their sex, skin colour, sexual orientation or religion is illegal, except when the nature of the job requires it. If they are looking for a female model for a lipstick commercial, a man – no matter how good-looking – won’t get the job… But if the job can be done just as well by a man as by a woman, the employer has no right to refuse to employ you on that basis.
In such a case, you can file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse), which will investigate and may bring proceedings before the Human Rights Tribunal, if necessary.
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