New report: Justice Denied: The Systemic Failure to Enforce BC Employment Standards

Today, the BC Employment Standards Coalition is releasing our latest report: Justice Denied: The Systemic Failure to Enforce BC Employment Standards.

This report exposes the failure of the BC Employment Standards Branch to effectively and efficiently enforce the Employment Standards Act. Because of this failure, thousands of BC workers are being denied their rights under the law. Over 80% of workers in the private sector in BC have no other employment rights relating to wages, benefits, and other basic working conditions than those provided in the Employment Standards Act.

This report tells the story of:

  • Lengthy delays in the resolution of complaints.
  • A continued primary focus on the administration of a complaints-based system.
  • The failure of the Branch to proactively investigate employers, industries, and sectors with a history of Employment Standards Act violations.
  • The barriers to employees in having their complaints addressed.
  • The suppression of complaints.
  • Employer bias in Branch practices and procedures.
  • Procedural unfairness in complaint investigation and adjudication.
  • The inadequacy of Branch budgets and staff resources to provide effective enforcement of the Act.

The findings and recommendations are based on a historical review of the activities of the Employment Standards Branch; Ministry of Labour reports, staffing resources, and budgets; employment standards review reports; Employment Standards Tribunal decisions; and case files from workers’ organizations.

We urge the B.C. government to improve the working lives of British Columbians who are the victims of wage theft and the denial of legislated rights. Specifically, the report provides the following seven recommendations:

  • Increase Employment Standards Branch annual funding by at least $14 million.
  • Reinstate proactive investigations into problem industries and sectors, like agriculture; construction; hospitality; restaurant/food services; caregiving, including in-home care, long-term care homes, and daycares; food processing; building maintenance services; and retail.
  • Proactively investigate and address the widespread misclassification of workers as independent contractors, such as in the gig economy.
  • Collect and disburse all monies found to be owed to workers.
  • Shorten wait times to ensure complaints are acted upon and investigated within 90 days of the receipt of the complaint.
  • Ensure procedural fairness in the handling of complaints by clearly setting out and making publicly available expected timelines for each step in the complaints process, increasing communication between the ESB and complainants during the process, and providing specific training to employment standards Officers regarding their duties as administrative decision makers.
  • Increase the monetary value of penalties and award a penalty for each violation that impacts every employee of an employer to deter employers from repeat offenses and to create an environment of compliance.

The BC Employment Standards Coalition brings together organizations, advocates, and workers in a campaign for employment standards legislation that provides decent wages, working conditions, respect, and dignity for all workers in the province of British Columbia.

BC EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS COALITION
4778 Fernglen Place, Burnaby, BC V5G 3W1
Phone: 604-430-6036 | Fax: 604-435-6024
Email: david(at)labourconsultingservices.com
www.bcemploymentstandardscoalition.com



Our submission to the Fair Wages Commission

On November 23, BC Employment Standards Coalition Co-Chair David Fairey made a submission in Vancouver to the Fair Wages Commission as part of its consultation. The submission contains detailed responses to questions from the Commission including, “What is a reasonable timeframe or schedule of increases in the minimum wage to reach $15-an-hour?” and “What are your experiences or thoughts about the farm workers piece rates in B.C.?”

Please click here to read our full submission.

Article in The Tyee on new BC Employment Standards Coalition Summary Report

“B.C. workers aren’t protected from abuse and harassment under the Employment Standards Act. WorkSafeBC has guidelines on workplace bullying, but Fairey says they have no teeth.

It’s a refrain that’s repeated throughout the report: lack of protection for workers and lack of enforcement of the rules that do exist.”

The Tyee has published an article on the BC Employment Standards Coalition’s new Summary Report, Worker Workers’ Stories of Harassment and Abuse: Why B.C. Employment Standards Need to Change. Read The Tyee article here, and see our press release here.

Metro News coverage of Workers’ Stories summary report

Metro News: http://bit.ly/2qOMdiz

Metro News published a story this week on the release of our new Summary Report, “Workers’ Stories of Exploitation & Abuse: Why BC Employment Standards Need to Change.”

For our press release, please click here.

PRESS RELEASE: Workers Survey Shows BC Employers Failing to Meet Basic Regulations & Calls for Revisions to Employment Standards Act

 

Flickr Creative Commons: https://flic.kr/p/EstjwE

For a pdf version of this press release, please click here

Today, the BC Employment Standards Coalition released a summary of its forthcoming report, “Workers’ Stories of Exploitation & Abuse: Why BC Employment Standards Need to Change.” The report exposes employer violations of BC’s Employment Standards Act, and proposes revisions to the act that will protect unrepresented workers from abuse and exploitation. It also marks the first time in twenty-five years that British Columbia workers have been given a voice to publicly share their experiences with BC’s employment standards law and enforcement.

Over the past six months, the BC Employment Standards Coalition held of a series of workers’ story forums across Metro Vancouver and Victoria. During these forums, coalition members interviewed workers about their experiences with employment standards violations, issues with enforcement, and areas where the Employment Standards Act failed to protect them. After the forums, the coalition analyzed their findings, and began crafting a report that would give workers a voice, and propose changes to the legislation necessary to improve the minimum employment standards for all BC workers.

The report summary details violation issues that need to be addressed immediately. For example, an overwhelming majority of workers reported “wage theft,” lack of breaks, miss-classification of employees as self-employed, violation of employment contracts, improper termination, and excessive work hours. The report also raises serious concerns about employers charging fees for temporary foreign workers, failing to keep proper records, and denying their employees leave and sick days.

The “Workers’ Stories” report illustrates a failure of the BC Liberal government to proactively enforce the Employment Standards Act and encourage workers to submit complaints of violations. “Over the past fifteen years, workers have found themselves in increasingly precarious, low paid and exploitative jobs – a fact that has been widely recognized across Canada,” says David Fairey, co-chair of the coalition. “But in BC, the inadequacies of the Employment Standards Act and its enforcement has worsened the problem.”

The full “Workers’ Stories” report will be published in June.

About The BC Employment Standards Coalition

The BC Employment Standards Coalition campaigns for decent wages, working conditions, and respect and dignity in the workplace. The coalition is comprised of individual members, representatives from worker and community legal advocacy organizations, public policy researchers, labour lawyers and volunteer advocates.

For more information, please contact David Fairey, Co-Chair, BC Employment Standards Coalition 604-430-6036 + david@labourconsultingservices.com