What is the impact of the Employment Standards Blitz on Vulnerable Workers?

Because the Ontario Government has a mission to protect employees and vulnerable workers they have started to implement a three-month employment standards program effective from September 2014. This campaign also covers vulnerable and temporary foreign workers in the country.

According to the Ministry of Labour their employment standards officers will start conducting inspections with the aim to determine compliance with the Canadian Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). The inspections will initially focus on those sectors that hire a high proportion of foreign temporary and other vulnerable workers. This covers the following industries:

• Restaurants

• Building services

• Personal care service such as hair, esthetics and massage providers

• Business support services like call centers and collection agencies

• Horticulture

During inspections the inspectors will check compliance with core standards of employment as regulated by the above mentioned act. Prime focus is on:

• Public holidays

• Leave pay

• Minimum wage requirements

• Adequate record keeping

• Correct wage payments

This is all part of the Ontario government’s plan of investment in people skills, to create a modern infrastructure to support a dynamic and modern innovative business climate in the country.

The minister of Labour, Kevin Flynn remarked that employees across the nation deserve fairness and respect in their workplace. The inspections will thus ensure that the rights of vulnerable employees under the Law are protected. To have a fair and level playing level is part of the plan to create an environment where companies following the rules are not penalized.

Some of the main points covered under this act are the following:

Because vulnerable and foreign workers are more exposed to precarious working conditions due it being seasonal or part-time temporary work they have a greater risk of having their rights violated.

After conducting inspection from April 2013 to March 2014 two thousand seven hundred inspections conducted recovered in excess of 3.1 million dollars in lost wages in Ontario.

The number of foreign workers in temporary positions increased by forty percent from 91,000 to 130,000 in the period 2008 to 2013.

These facts combined make this act a vital part of future economic growth in the Ontario region and to protect the rights of all workers in the region.