UTGB Vol 5.pdf - Robson Hall Faculty of Law

74 Underneath the Golden Boy
• Provisions for prosecutions to take place where collection strategies fail
(e.g., fail to recover unpaid wages for employees).
In short, the investigation, enforcement and compliance provisions of the Code
require a substantial overhaul. Along with a number of proactive measures (e.g.,
requiring that standards be posted in workplaces and conducting audits and
spot checks), there must be a cost for breaking these laws. Manitoba should
look to Ontario as an example of a jurisdiction that is beginning to take
violations-and therefore the rights of workers-seriously. Recognizing that the
Ontario Employment Standards Act already contains significant penalties and
other enforcement measures currently lacking in the Manitoba Code, in 2004,
the Ontario Ministry of Labour announced the initiation of 226 new
prosecutions. (There had been only 18 in the previous four years!) A perusal of
recent convictions and penalties under the Ontario Act reveals that most are
still in the $300-$400 range. However, there are some very significant fines,
including one for $17 7 500 in 2005. 96 Enforcement of this latter kind carries
with it some hope of creating rreaningful incentives for employers to comply
with the law. 97
D. Termination Notice
As the Inter-Jurisdictional Comparison accompanying the Discussion Guide
makes clear, Manitoba is vastly out-of step with other jurisdictions when it
comes to the minimum notice required to terminate an individual's
employment. The Code provisions are completely inadequate to protect the
most vulnerable workers (non-unionized, low-wage workers) who are not in a
position to seek enforcement of their common law right to pay in lieu of
reasonable notice. Unlike all other jurisdictions, under s. 61 of the Code,
Manitoba does not have any minimum graduated notice periods, instead
providing only one pay period's notice no matter how long the employment. At a
minimum, the Code should be amended to provide for similar graduated
notice provisions as those provided in Ontario, meaning that an employee be
96
Ontario Ministry of Labour, Employment Standards Convictions Archive (2005), online:
Ontario Ministry of Labour .
97
The amended Code (s. 138.1) and Regulation (s. 29) provide for new "administrative
penalties" in the amount of $500 to $1 000, the aim of which seems to facilitate a more
streamlined enforcement procedure, while still leaving the option of the more involved
process of mounting prosecutions for offences under the Code. There is no evidence on the
Employment Standards website of any increased enforcement capacity in the form of
budget or additional staff.