Confusion trips up labour reform roll out, leaving some stakeholders in the dark

Sweeping federal labour reforms come into force today, but the government is still figuring out who will be exempt from key provisions.

Thousands of workers and employers are facing uncertainty after airlines, truck companies and telecoms asked Ottawa for exemptions or delays to rules they say would kneecap their operations.

The changes require federally regulated employers to give staff a 24-hour heads-up on shift changes and four days’ notice for schedules. A 30-minute break every five hours and an eight-hour rest period between shifts are also mandated.

Employment Minister Patty Hajdu says some companies and employees will be exempt from those regulations until further tweaks can be made after the October election — but just which companies and employees will be on the exemption list remains up in the air.

Industry representatives say the changes would delay shipments, cancel flights and hurt Canada’s economy, while labour groups say they are asking for reasonable benefits from companies that are trying to skimp on workers.

The contested amendments are part of an overhaul — three years in the making — to the Canada Labour Code, which hasn’t seen a major update since the 1960s.

Union calls for government to reverse exemptions

A union for public sector employees is calling on the government to reverse the exemptions granted to some employers.

Chris Aylward with the  Public Service Alliance of Canada says some are arguing they didn’t have enough time to adjust, but he doesn’t buy that.

“I think it’s really unfair for employers to be saying, at this point, that they really weren’t ready and this was kind of sprung on them at the last minute,” he says. “It’s been talked about for the last two years, in Bill C-86 and Bill C-63. I don’t buy the argument that employers weren’t ready for this.”

Aylward says the companies have had plenty of time to prepare.

“We’re not talking mom and pop corner store operations. We’re talking about UPS, we’re talking Fed-Ex, we’re talking CN Rail, WestJet, Air North,” he says. “And they’re certainly not going to go bankrupt because of these changes, at all. All they’re concerned about is the bottom line.”

He’s hoping the government will review the changes after the election.

“We should be celebrating these changes on Labour Day. Unfortunately the government has buckled under some pressure from some employers and given sweeping exemptions,” Aylward says, adding companies should be looking to protect their workers, not just the bottom line.