Paid sick days for all! Petition and day of action May 21st

No one should have to choose between working while sick and not being able to pay rent.

The erosion of labor standards and the inaction of the BC NDP has put workers in a precarious position.

The COVID-19 health emergency has made the need for paid sick days and adequate job protection more obvious than ever before.

We are proud to collaborate with the Retail Action Network in a campaign for paid sick days for all.

  • Join the day of action on May 21st! More info here
  • Please sign the petition here

Our submission on Paid Leave for Domestic Violence or Sexual Violence

Domestic and sexual violence sadly affects many people in B.C., including workers. Global News notes that women make up 87% of sexual violence victims and 2/3 of victims of domestic violence. Indigenous women and members of the LGBTQ2 community are at a particular risk. Not surprisingly, over 80% of workers who have experienced domestic violence express that it interferes with their work performance.

Recently, the B.C. government invited submissions on whether the Employment Standards Act should require employers to continue to pay their employee’s regular wage for any of the time off for domestic or sexual violence.

At our general meeting on September 16th, the BC Employment Standards Coalition developed a collective response that we sent to Minister of Labour Harry Bains & Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity Mitzi Dean. In short, we argue that the Employment Standards Act should most certainly contain a provision for paid domestic or sexual violence leave as part of the much-needed modernization of the Act. You can read our full response here.

In addition, please read the BC Government and Service Employees’ Union response here.




BC Auditor General must conduct performance audit of Employment Standards Branch

For almost two decades, BC’s Employment Standards Branch has failed to adequately enforce the Employment Standards Act and the Employment Standards Regulation. This week, the BC Employment Standards Coalition called on the BC Auditor General, Carol Bellringer, to conduct an investigation.

In addition, this week the BC Employment Standards Coalition submitted our response to the Minister of Labour’s February 28th Consultation Paper, which also included our separate critique of the BC Law Institute’s December report on the Employment Standards Act.

Individuals can submit their views on modernizing the BC Employment Standards via email (ESAReview@gov.bc.ca)until March 31st. The BCFED has provided a template letter at this link: https://www.workersdeservebetter.ca/employment_standards

PRESS RELEASE: Immediate action needed to reform BC employment standards

OFL/Flickr

On the heels of Labour Day, the BC Employment Standards Coalition presented a comprehensive submission to the BC Minister of Labour Harry Bains calling for immediate action on a number of pressing employment standards reforms. Please click here for our  press release, and click for our full submission.

Coalition Co-Chair David Fairey was interviewed by the CBC this week about the serious need to strengthen B.C.’s labour laws to protect all workers.

As outlined in our submission, urgent reforms are needed to address the neglect of workers’ rights by the previous Liberal government for 16 years. The most pressing need for employment standards change is in how the Act is enforced. Currently, enforcement is driven by workers’ complaints, but independent reviews of employment standards in BC and Ontario underscore the need for proactive investigation and enforcement, with a significant increase in Branch enforcement staff.

We are concerned that the Minister of Labour will not act on the pressing need for immediate employment standards changes until after he has received the final recommendations of the BC Law Institute’s review of the Employment Standards Act, which is not expected much earlier than the end of 2018.

We invite individuals and organizations to endorse our submission by adding your name to this document. We also invite you to circulate our submission widely.