YOUR RIGHTS AT WORK A School of Labour Workshop Maureen Hynes 416 415 5000 x 2549

1. YOUR RIGHTS AT WORK A School of Labour Workshop Maureen Hynes 416 415 5000 x 2549 mhynes@georgebrown.ca www.georgebrown.ca/schooloflabour

2. Outcomes • Explain your basic rights in the workplace (2) Take action if workplace law is broken – what to do, where to go, who to call, what risks are involved (3) Analyze the differences between unionized and non-unionized workplaces

3. 100 years ago, we didn’t have…. • Laws that cover hours and minimum wages • Laws that protect children from working full-time • More equity in men’s and women’s wages • Health and Safety legislation • Unemployment Insurance • Pensions • Health insurance (OHIP) since 1966 • Workers’ Compensation since 1917 • Social Assistance • Unions!

4. How did we get all these laws? • Activism – marches, protests, strikes, petitions, rallies • Research and study • Union bargaining • Lobbying and advocacy • Political parties took up the issues (which ones?) • Press and media coverage • Coalitions of church groups, community groups, unions, etc • Sometimes people died to get these rights

5. Similarities: then and now • Situation of children globally – where is child labour still an issue? And why? • Situation of immigrant workers in Canada – “desperate for work, dared not complain, would be quickly replaced” • A systemic problem that doesn’t seem to get better – perhaps even for the second generation (Stats Can, 2006)

6. Laws that protect us • Ontario Human Rights Code: no discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, country of origin, disability, etc • Employment Standards Act: covers minimum wages, hours of work, overtime, vacations and holidays, termination, etc • Occupational Health & Safety Act: gives you the right to know about workplace hazards; to participate in decisions about hazards (through committees, representatives, safety inspections); and to refuse unsafe work • Workplace Safety & Insurance Act: provides you with insurance payments in case of an occupational accident or injury, and some access to retraining, under conditions • Ontario Labour Relations Act: protects workers who want to organize or participate in a union; covers how collective agreements must work; covers when strikes or lockouts can take place; restricts employers from unfair labour practices; makes unions represent their workers fairly) • Pay Equity Act: ensures people in jobs requiring the same effort, skill, responsibilities, and conditions are paid the same

7. Employment Standards Act • Minimum wage in Ontario • Hours of work • Overtime pay • Meal breaks • Public Holidays • Vacations • Pregnancy leave • Parental leave • Pay information and record keeping • Termination of employment

8. 1. Minimum wages

9. FYI, minimum wages across Canada (2009 figures)…

10. What do you think? • If you are earning minimum wage, do you have enough to live on? • The next slide shows you the “Low Income Cut-Off”, that is, what you need to earn in order to be above the poverty line…

11. Before-Tax Low-Income Cut-Offs (LICOs), 2009Source: HRDC, Citizenship and Immigration

12. 2. Hours of work • Your employer cannot require you to work more than 8 hours in a day UNLESS the employer has set a longer work week; and in the case of accidents & emergencies. • Not more than 48 hours a week UNLESS you give the employer permission in writing to work up to 60 hours a week. • You have to be free from work: • 11 consecutive hours a day • 8 hours between shifts • 24 consecutive hours a week, or 48 hours in 2 weeks. • You can refuse to work on Sundays if you work in retail.

13. 3. Overtime pay • After working 44 hours in a week, you must be paid at least time-and-a-half UNLESS: • unless you have agreed, in writing, to take off one and a half hours for each hour worked • and unless you have agreed, in writing, to average your overtime pay over 4 weeks at 44 hours each week (i.e., no overtime pay until you’ve worked 176 hours). • If you get $8.75 an hour (minimum wage), time-and-a-half is $13.13.

14. 4. Coffee breaks & meal breaks • One half hour meal break after 5 hours of work. • Or, if you agree, two 15-minute breaks within the 5 hours • Paid or unpaid?

15. 5. Hours of workThe “three-hour call-in” rule • If your employer has you come in for your regular shift – • or if the employer calls you for an extra shift - • BUT then wants to send you home before your shift is over – • -- then s/he must pay you a minimum of 3 hours, even if you worked fewer hours than that

16. 6. Paid Public Holidays in Ontario • New Year’s Day • Family Day– new! • Good Friday • Victoria Day • Canada Day • Labour Day • Thanksgiving Day • Christmas Day • Boxing Day

17. 7. Termination of employment • If your boss lets you go, s/he must give you “notice” (warning); • Or if s/he doesn’t give you notice, s/he must give you the same number of weeks of pay instead, depending on how long you’ve worked there

18. 7. Termination pay

19. 8. Pregnancy leave • If a woman has worked 13 weeks before the baby’s due date, then she can get 17 weeks of (EI-funded) pregnancy leave (actually this works out to 15 weeks with the two-week waiting period for EI). • The employer doesn’t pay the woman’s wages during pregnancy leave – Employment Insurance (EI) does.

20. 9. Parental leave • A new mother or father / other parent can also get 35 or 37 weeks of PAID, JOB-PROTECTED parental leave when the baby is born or adopted – • -- as long as s/he has had at least 600 hours of work in the past year, or since her last claim (e.g., 15 weeks @ 40 hours – or 30 weeks @ 20 hours). • The birth mother will get 35 weeks if she’s already taken her full 17 weeks pregnancy leave; • 37 weeks for the birth mother if she didn’t take the 17 weeks, or for the other parent.

21. 10. Vacations • After 12 months of working in the same job or with the same employer, you get 2 weeks of vacation a year. • Your employer must schedule your vacation in 1 or 2 week blocks, UNLESS you have agreed, in writing, to take shorter blocks, like one day at a time. • If you leave your job before a year is up, or if are working part-time, you will probably get your vacation as 4% of your pay

22. 11. Emergency leave • If you work in a workplace with more than 50 employees, you can have 10 days of unpaid, job-protected leave per year to deal with family or emergency issues. • But -- only 50% of Ontarians work in companies or organizations with more than 50 employees

23. 12. Family Medical Leave • As of September, 2005, you are eligible for up to 8job-protected weeks off to care for a parent (step-parent/foster parent), spouse (including same sex spouse), or child (step-child/foster child) who is at risk of dying within 26 weeks. [list expanded Oct /06] • You need to get a certificate from a “qualified health professional” • You can get 6 weeks of EI “Compassionate Care” payments.

24. 13. Pay information and record keeping Your boss has to give you this information with your pay: • The pay period • The amount of any deductions • Reasons for deductions • Your gross pay • Your net pay

25. 12. Resolving a dispute • If you have a complaint about unpaid wages, you must file your complaint with the Ministry of Labour within 6 months. • If your complaint is about another ESA issue, you have 2 years to file a complaint  Get helpwhen filing a complaint – call the Workers’ Action Centre 416 531 0778, or a legal clinic

26. One-minute video on workers’ rights from the US • http://www.freechoiceact.org/page/s/yournewjob?source=bnfvideo0908&subsource=jwj