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18 May, 2009
Late last month, the Ontario Legislature passed an Employment Standards Amendment Act (Temporary Help Agencies), which grants substantially more rights to workers of labour-hire companies. It will become effective in six months time.
The new law, Bill 139, prohibits temporary employment agencies from charging fees for CVs or interview preparation. It also prevents agencies from charging workers “temporary to permanent” fees.
And together with that, and more importantly, it allows agency workers fair treatment and better opportunities for advancement into permanent and sustainable work. Bill 139 ensures that such workers get paid for public holidays, and that they have the same rights as regular workers to notice of termination and severance pay. That will occur by removing exemptions under the Employment Standards Act’s “elect to work” provision. Specifically regarding temporary workers, that means when they accept work through agencies, they forfeit such rights. That will no longer be the case.
Although the new law does not guarantee equal pay for equal work, it does establish a system for payment of wage arrears by agencies when clients are late in payment.
The legislation was advanced though Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, a programme designed to build a stronger economy by creating more opportunities for low-income families and children. Passage of Bill 139, said Ontario Labour Minister Peter Fonseca, “removes barriers to permanent employment” and we feel “we are helping people achieve their potential and opening doors to opportunity.”
In Ontario, Canada’s largest and most populous province, the number of temporary agencies has grown from 1,300 in 1993 to nearly 4,400 today, with total revenues increasing from C$1.5 billion to C$8 billion in that 15-year time span.
Most labour law in Canada is regulated under separate codes enacted and administered separately by the country’s ten provinces.