NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015
38
INHOUSE
IN THE COMING holiday season, retail-
ers will put more hands on deck to meet the
demands of the busiest time of the year. But
before hiring new workers, should they of-
fer more hours to employees they've already
hired on a part-time basis?
That's just one of the many questions
being discussed as the Ministry of Labour
reviews the province's employment and
labour laws. Consultations for the Chang-
ing Workplaces Review, launched in May,
closed Sept. 18. The review, according to
the MOL, looks at how the Employment
Standards Act and the Labour Relations
Act "could be amended to best protect
workers while supporting businesses in our
changing economy."
The provisions under the two acts were
created for a different era of work, says
Jason Beeho, employment and labour
lawyer at Rubin Thomlinson LLP. "The
labour relations and employment standards
legislation we're dealing with right now was
really born in the '50s and '60s, and back
then we had a much more thriving and
robust manufacturing sector," he says.
In those days, issues such as overtime
work and scheduling were considered in the
context of full-time manufacturing jobs that
came with regularity, Beeho says. But times
have changed. The retail sector has now
outgrown all other industries in the num-
ber of Canadians it hires, but the industry
Retail's labour
challenge
As Ontario reviews its employment and labour
laws, workers and retailers are watching closely to
see if their interests will be represented.
BY YAMRI TADDESE
