The report of the Advisory Group on Working Time and the Distribution of Work was presented to the Canadian Minister of Human Resources Development in December, 1994.
General
1. The Advisory Group endorses a new public policy priority that emphasizes redistribution and reduction of working time.
2. The Advisory Group urges employers, trade unions, and employees to place more emphasis on working time issues and their implications in collective bargaining and workplace decision making.
3.The Advisory Group recommends that the Minister of Human Resources Development initiate energetic and broadly-based public discussions on the Report. We urge the provincial ministers of labour to participate in these post-report consultations, as part of a national dialogue, and/or that they undertake their own consultations.
Worktime Innovations
4. The Advisory Group calls on governments, as the largest employers in Canada, and on their collective bargaining agents to review the recommendations of this Report and to support innovative (workplace) practices to facilitate the reduction, reorganization, and redistribution of work in the public service.
5. The Advisory Group urges the federal and provincial ministers of labour to give priority to the issues of worktime in their deliberations and to examine the policies in their jurisdictions which would support new arrangements in the public and private sectors with the potential for additional job creation.
The Standard Workweek
6. The Advisory Group notes that marked disparities exist in the legislated standard workweek across Canada. We recommend that the legislated standard workweek be no longer than 40 hours per week in any jurisdiction.
7. The Advisory Group recommends that federal and provincial governments periodically review the legislated standard workweek to ensure that the standard moves with the normal full-time workweek in their jurisdiction.
Overtime
8. The Advisory Group recommends that employees be given the right to refuse overtime work after the legislated standard workweek of 40 hours and that this right be incorporated into employment standards legislation.
9. The Advisory Group recommends that employers and employees utilize time off in lieu of overtime pay after the standard workweek.
Annual Hours and Time-off in Lieu
10. The Advisory Group recommends that the maximum amount of overtime in excess of regular working hours for which compensation can be paid be set at 100 hours annually. Overtime in excess of the 100 hours should only be compensated on the basis of time off in lieu of overtime, at the overtime rate.
11. The Advisory Group recommends that the hours of work coverage under employment standards legislation be broadened to include salaried employees and other full-time workers who may now be excluded. Similar annual limits on overtime and the requirement for time off in lieu of overtime pay beyond 100 hours would apply to this group.
Contingent Work Force
12. The Advisory Group recommends that employment standards be vigorously enforced, especially for part-time workers and for those outside the normal workplace environment. Special attention should be paid to non-standard workers to ensure that they are fully covered and protected under employment standards, have access ss to collective bargaining, and receive at least the minimum hourly wage and other workplace-related social benefits.
13. The Advisory Group recommends that a registry be created in all jurisdictions to cover employees who work at home. Employers would be obliged to provide information on hours of work and pay for their home-based employees. It should include a mechanism to enable employees to register and to verify the accuracy of the information about their hours of work and their pay.
Part-time Workers
14. The Advisory Group recommends that employers be required to provide pro-rated benefits to regularly employed, part-time employees.
Retirement
15. The Advisory Group supports wider adoption of the practice of phased-in retirement, under which older employees are encouraged to work reduced regular hours or take leaves of absence as a transition to retirement.
16. The Advisory Group recognizes that a major obstacle to phased-in retirement could be the reduction of future public and private pension benefits. We recommend that governments, employers, unions, and employees consider changes and their implications to public and private pension plans, arrangements, and regulations, to ensure that phased-in retirement does not substantially reduce future pension benefits.
Family Leave
17. The Advisory Group recommends that employment standards in all jurisdictions provide a right to take an unpaid leave of absence from work after the birth or the adoption of a child at least equal to the period of entitlement to Unemployment Insurance under maternity and parental benefits (15 weeks maternity benefits and the 10 weeks of parental benefits payable to the mother of father). Serious consideration should be given to the general adoption of the Quebec standard of 34 weeks of leave.
18. The Advisory Group recommends that Canadians be entitled to five days of unpaid family leave per year, the current standard in Quebec. These leaves would be linked to the care and health of immediate family members.
Education and Training Leaves
19. The Advisory Group recommends the increased adoption of paid education and training leave plans through the joint agreement of employers and employees and unions.
20. The Advisory Group recommends that a basic entitlement to unpaid education and training leaves be entrenched in provincial and federal standards in order to expand opportunities for learning. The ability to gain access to this entitlement should be linked to the length of service with a company or organization.
21. The Advisory Group urges the federal government to support greater use of education leaves by considering changes to the tax system such as income averaging.
UI Worksharing
22. The Advisory Group recommends the continuation of the UI worksharing program for reducing short-term layoffs. However, the applications process should be reviewed to ensure that it is more accessible, particularly to small business.
Post-Report Processes
23.The Advisory Group recommends that the responsibilities of existing organizations be expanded to promote and report on worktime redistribution and flexible work arrangements over the longer term. It recommends that the Canadian Labour Market and Productivity Centre (CLMPC) focus on ongoing consultations between business and labour, while the Bureau of Labour Information (BLI) focus on disseminating information on changing worktime practices.
Information Needs
24. So that all Canadians may better understand the changing workplace, the Advisory Group recommends that Statistics Canada monitor these trends, and specifically: a) conduct periodic surveys of worktime preferences and practices of both employers and employees; b) provide more data on the non-standard workforce.
Posted by sandwichman at January 15, 2005 11:40 AM