The government of Ontario has passed the Working for Workers Act 2021 to better protect, support, and attract working professionals to the province. The act will position Ontario as a pioneer in charting the path forward as the way people work changes. The changes would promote a healthy work-life balance. They will further enable competitiveness by banning unfair non-compete agreements used to restrict work opportunities and suppress salary increases and wage growth.
Here’s the full statement issued, by Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development in recognition of the passing of the Working for Workers Act on 30th November 2021.
“Our government is working for workers everyday to help them earn bigger paycheques, stay safe, and have better opportunities. We are determined to rebalance the scales and put workers in the driver’s seat of Ontario’s economic growth while attracting the best workers to our great province.
Through the passage of this legislation, Ontario is ensuring our labour laws keep pace with the acceleration of new technology, automation, and remote work. We are protecting workers’ rights, while positioning Ontario as the top destination for global talent and investment.
We have introduced measures to make it easier to spend time with family and loved ones, requiring most workplaces have a right to disconnect policy. To help workers advance their careers and earn more, we are banning businesses from using non-compete agreements.
Other changes passed today will protect and support vulnerable workers by establishing mandatory licensing of recruiters and temporary help agencies, with the harshest penalties in the country for violators.
For truckers and food delivery couriers who keep our world moving, we are enshrining their right to access washrooms in the businesses and restaurants they serve.
Finally, we are making it easier for internationally trained individuals to practice in the professions they trained in, helping more businesses find the workers they need to drive economic prosperity for us all.
This legislation is another step towards building back a better province and cementing Ontario’s position as a global leader, for others to follow, as the best place in the world to live, work and raise a family.”
Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, had introduced the Working for Workers Act, 2021 earlier.
“COVID-19 has changed the way we work, leaving too many people behind, struggling to put food on the table and make ends meet for their families,” said Minister McNaughton when he introduced the act. “Our government is working for workers. To do so, we must act swiftly and decisively to put workers in the driver’s seat and begin rebalancing the scales. Today’s proposed legislation shows Ontario is ready to lead the way into the workplaces of tomorrow, and create the conditions that will make talented, innovative people want to work in our great province.”
This legislation would make Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to make it easier for people to relax and spend quality time with their loved ones. By requiring employers with 25 employees or more to develop disconnecting from work policies, Ontario is prioritizing workers’ mental health and family time. These workplace policies could include, for example, expectations about response time for emails and encouraging employees to turn on out-of-office notifications when they aren’t working.
The legislation will also prohibit employers from using non-compete agreements that often restrict employees from taking new jobs with another business in the same field after they leave the company.
The proposed changes would ban this unfair restriction from helping workers in Ontario advance their careers and earn more money. This would also give the province a competitive advantage in attracting global talent. As a result, employers would still be able to protect their intellectual property through narrower clauses.
The following are the main changes that the Working for Workers act brought.
- Require employers with 25 or more employees to have a written policy about employees disconnecting from their job at the end of the workday to help employees spend more time with their families.
- Ban the use of non-compete agreements that prevent people from exploring other work opportunities to make it easier for workers to advance in their careers.
- Help remove barriers, such as Canadian experience requirements, for internationally trained individuals to get licenced in a regulated profession and access jobs that match their qualifications and skills.
- Require recruiters and temporary help agencies to have a licence to operate in the province to help protect vulnerable employees from being exploited.
- Require business owners to allow delivery workers to use a company’s washroom if they are delivering or picking up items. This supports the delivery drivers, couriers and truck drivers who have kept our essential supplies and economy going throughout the pandemic.
- Allow surpluses in the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s Insurance Fund to be distributed over certain levels to businesses, helping them cope with the impacts of COVID-19.
- Enable the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board to work with entities, like the Canada Revenue Agency, to streamline remittances for businesses, enabling a way to give them an efficient one-stop-shop for submitting premiums and payroll deductions. Learn more.
- Allow the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to collect information related to the agri-food workforce to ensure the government can enhance the coordination of services such as vaccination and testing and respond to issues that may arise.
Source: https://news.ontario.ca/