Stronger protections needed to fight erratic scheduling, advocates say

As the passage of Bill 148 nears completion, workers worry that a loophole in new protections will leave them vulnerable to unpredictable schedules.

TheStar.com
Nov. 15, 2017
Sara Mojtehedzadeh

Ina Labuschagne describes her working life as akin to a juggling act: three part-time jobs plus an assortment of gigs on the side to make ends meet: loading trucks, gardening, snow shovelling. It's a common state of being, she says, in her Regent Park community.

Now, she's worried the solution is just out of reach.

As lawmakers at Queen's Park prepare to finalize updates to the province's employment laws, advocates say new scheduling protections contained in Bill 148 - while laudable -do not go far enough.

"Fair scheduling is so important for your mental health," says Labuschagne. "To know what hours you're going to work, that would be good."

Currently, the bill would give workers the right to refuse a shift if it is assigned with less than four days' notice. It would also require employers to pay workers for three hours of work if their shift is cancelled within 48 hours of its start time. Exceptions would be limited to emergencies beyond the employer's control - like fires, power outages or storms.

But a recent amendment, inserted after its first reading, could pave the way for other exemptions to be set out through government regulation for employers to avoid paying cancellation wages.

That makes the provision ripe for abuse, according to Yogendra Shakya, senior research scientist at Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services, who is also calling for the new legislation to mandate two weeks' scheduling notice for all workers.

"Strong evidence shows (scheduling) is the second most stressful thing for workers - after not having a stable contract."

Ina Labuschagne describes her working life as akin to a juggling act: three part-time jobs plus an assortment of gigs on the side to make ends meet: loading trucks, gardening, snow shovelling. It's a common state of being, she says, in her Regent Park community.

Now, she's worried the solution is just out of reach.

As lawmakers at Queen's Park prepare to finalize updates to the province's employment laws, advocates say new scheduling protections contained in Bill 148 - while laudable - do not go far enough.

"Fair scheduling is so important for your mental health," says Labuschagne. "To know what hours you're going to work, that would be good."

Currently, the bill would give workers the right to refuse a shift if it is assigned with less than four days' notice. It would also require employers to pay workers for three hours of work if their shift is cancelled within 48 hours of its start time. Exceptions would be limited to emergencies beyond the employer's control - like fires, power outages or storms.

But a recent amendment, inserted after its first reading, could pave the way for other exemptions to be set out through government regulation for employers to avoid paying cancellation wages.

That makes the provision ripe for abuse, according to Yogendra Shakya, senior research scientist at Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services, who is also calling for the new legislation to mandate two weeks' scheduling notice for all workers.

"Strong evidence shows (scheduling) is the second most stressful thing for workers - after not having a stable contract."