New B.C. labour bill angers unions
Changes called 'huge gift' to employers; business representatives praise flexibility
By Rod Mickleburgh
Tuesday, May 14, 2002 – Print Edition, Page A8

VANCOUVER -- The B.C. government is proposing big changes to the workplace, including reduced benefits for injured workers, more chances for employers to thwart union organizing drives and a dramatic curtailment of mandatory overtime payments.

Under amendments introduced yesterday to the province's Employment Standards Act, the standard work week of 40 hours may be averaged over two, three or four weeks, before employers are required to pay overtime, if the employee agrees to the schedule.

This means, for instance, that an employee may work 60 hours in one week without receiving a dime in overtime pay, provided he or she works only 20 hours the next week. An employee could even work 70 hours in a week, and 30 hours for each of the next three weeks, without qualifying for overtime. In each case, the average work week would be 40 hours.

B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair slammed the measures as nothing more than a total "bill of rights" for employers. "This is a recipe for cheap labour, not building a modern economy," Mr. Sinclair said. "We are going back to the old days when employers had all the power and workers were victims. This is simply a huge gift to the employers in this province." He was particularly shocked by the changes in overtime requirements. "Even Mexico still has vestiges of the eight-hour day," Mr. Sinclair said. "What this means is that they can work you 13 days straight for 12 hours a day and pay you no overtime. And the reality is, if you refuse to work the time, and you don't have a union, you will lose your job."

The changes to the Employment Standards Act were part of a package of three bills introduced in the legislature yesterday by Labour Minister Graham Bruce.

Proposed changes to the Labour Code include:

Giving employers the right to communicate directly with employees before a union certification vote.

Instructing the Labour Relations Board to take "business viability" into account when making decisions.

The Workers Compensation Act will be changed to:

Reduce benefits from 75 per cent of gross earnings to 90 per cent of net average earnings with restricted inflation protection.

Eliminate permanent disability benefits after a worker is 65 in favour of a lump-sum annuity.

Cut coverage for chronic workplace stress.

Mr. Bruce denied that the three bills amount to an attack on labour. "This is trying to fix some concerns we've had expressed to us," he said. "I would hope that you would see that this is not a wild pendulum swing of changes here." He said the aim of the amendments is to promote flexibility and self-reliance in the workplace "so employees and employers can build mutually beneficial workplace relationships."

Employer representatives welcomed the changes. "My goodness, we've got legislation here that completely recognizes the need for flexibility," said Mark Startup of Retail B.C. "This is a dramatic improvement." Besides the overtime changes, Mr. Startup was also pleased that the minimum pay for a work callback will be reduced from four hours to two hours.

John Winter of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce said the changes give a clear signal to investors that the province's economic environment is again competitive.

Many of the measures are in place in other provinces, but Mr. Sinclair of the B.C. Federation of Labour said no province has introduced such a total, all-in-one package of rollbacks before.