Step backward in labour laws

Ontario's 700,000 temporary workers – the poorest, most insecure members of the labour force were jubilant when Premier Dalton McGuinty included them in his poverty strategy.

Fifteen months ago, the McGuinty government beefed up provincial employment standards, guaranteeing temp workers the right to holiday, severance and termination pay. The government also pledged to spend $10 million hiring new enforcement officers to protect precarious workers.

Now the temporary workers feel as if their victory is being snatched away, as the government proposes to “modernize” the Employment Standards Act. Under new rules, workers would be required to confront their boss about unpaid wages, overtime or other breaches of the law before filing a claim with the labor ministry.

Read the full article on the Toronto Star