Scrap it and start over! RCC’s advice to the Ford Government to repeal Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act (Bill 148, 2017)
Retail Council of Canada (RCC) Calling for Repeal of Ontario Bill 148
RE: Amendments to Employment Standards Act (ESA) and the Labour Relations Act (LRA)
RCC is calling on the Ford Government to repeal Bill 148 and then proceed to address individual problems where necessary. This was the very advice that Retail Council of Canada provided, on behalf of its retailers, to the Changing Workplaces Review Panel in 2015 and again in 2016. Bottom line, our position from the get-go was never to support these changes!
Retailers told us that the changes to Ontario labour laws were ill-conceived and poorly drafted. In a nutshell, RCC and its members believe that many of Bill 148’s changes were harmful to business and to employment prospects for Ontarians.
Rather than attempting to solve these many problems piece-by-piece, RCC believes that the best course of action would be to repeal Bill 148. Scrap it and start over!
Among the many issues affecting employment, Bill 148’s single biggest cost to businesses is, of course, the increase in minimum wage, which was raised 20.7% on January 1, 2018. With a further rise to $15/hour legislated for January 1, 2019, this would bring the increase to a whopping 29.3% over a 12-month period.
RCC applauds the new Ontario government’s commitment to avert the increase to $15/hour on January 1, 2019.
Read RCC’s letter to the Ontario Minister of Labour CALLING FOR THE REPEAL OF BILL 148.