Small business can’t afford stronger worker protections, says lobby group

Businesses aren't being cheap, but workplace reform is costly, argues Ontario Chamber of Commerce

Thestar.com
Sept. 17, 2015
By Sara Mojtehedzadeh

The tide of precarious work may be advancing, but luxuries like giving employees their schedules ahead of time are too costly and cumbersome for small businesses, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce says.

Making it easier for workers to get overtime pay and removing legal loopholes that exclude some 45 professions from basic workplace rights could also harm the economy, according to the group’s written submission to the provincial government.

The submission was made on behalf of around 60,000 mainly small businesses in Ontario, as the government considers changing its employment and labour laws to respond to the rise of precarious work. It urges the government to consider how those changes could undermine competitiveness.

But its recommendations fly in the face of changes proposed by workers rights’ advocates, who argue that Ontario’s patchy and outdated legislation needs better protections - including two weeks scheduling notice and a universal floor that would ensure that every employee in the province has the right to things like minimum wage, overtime pay, and emergency leave.

“Trust me, businesses understand the rationale for some of these proposed changes,” the OCC’s manager of policy Liam McGuinty told the Star in an interview. “But I think they disagree fundamentally on how it would impact the economy and businesses.”

The submissions suggests that advanced scheduling notice is too difficult for businesses who must response to fluctuating production requirements - despite the fact that major retail players Loblaws and Metro have recently taken steps to improve scheduling rights for their employees.

“It makes sense for a company like Loblaws. It makes less sense for, let’s say, a mid-size manufacturer that has shifting demand that has to be met with an equivalent increase in staffing,” McGuinty said.

The OCC submission argues the government should also retain the current set of exemptions that exclude employees in dozens of occupations from fundamental rights under the Employment Standards Act.

Most agricultural workers, for example, are not entitled to a variety of rights including minimum wage, daily rest periods, and overtime pay. But according to the OCC, there are compelling business reasons for keeping the loopholes.

“Let’s talk to the sectors, and let’s gain an understanding of how those exemptions play into their competitors and what the elimination of those exemptions would do for their competitiveness in a global market place,” McGuinty said.

McGuinty added that the businesses represented by the OCC, many of whom have less than 10 employees, were not trying to shirk their legal responsibilities, but could not afford the added cost of business that stricter legislation would impose.

“It bugs me when I hear businesses not wanting to do that because they’re being cheap,” he said. “It’s not a matter of businesses not wanting to, it’s a matter of those small businesses struggling to afford those types of costs.”

But critics say the organization’s position is out-of-step with mounting pressure to change labour legislation to reflect the erosion of full-time, stable jobs.

The Star has previously highlighted how legal loopholes exclude millions of workers from rights like paid leave, minimum wage, overtime pay, and protection from unjust dismissal. It has also highlighted the corrosive effects of erratic scheduling on workers’ lives.

“They need to get with the times and understand the impact of outdated legislation that doesn’t fit what is actually really happening in the workplace,” said Worker’s Action Centre head Deena Ladd of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s proposals.

Improved protections for precarious workers would “build in the long-term healthier workplaces and provide better productivity for businesses,” she added.

In its submission, the chamber acknowledges that the rise of precarious work means a growing number of Ontarians “do not have access to key components of the social safety net.”

It urges the government to come up with “innovative ways” to address the problem, including the consideration of a guaranteed annual income - which precarious work experts have also identified as one solution to increasing job insecurity.

The government’s public consultations on changing employment laws end on Friday in Toronto. A final report is expected to be made to lawmakers next August.