Cooper Institute - L'institut Cooper

Proposed Changes to Employment Standards

In a news release the WGLI state that "some of the recommendations that the Chambers protest makes the employers that they represent look extremely mean-spirited and greedy." The Charlottetown and Summerside Chambers of Commerce object to such principles as: paying employees a livable wage; allowing employees unpaid time off to grieve a death, be ill, or look after sick family; job security for senior employees; allowing women to have job security while on maternity leave; pay employees for reasonable overtime - and many more.

The PEI WGLI supports the recommendations of the Empoloyment Standards Review Panel has made. They are a step in the right direction to protect our most vulnerable workers in PEI. The PEI WGLI recognizes that there are many responsible and fair employers in PEI who believe in rewarding the hard work of their employees by treating them with dignity and as humans, rather than as an expense to their business.

Letter to the Editor

Editor,

In response to the Guardian article of January 17th "Some Proposed Standards Changes not in the Best Interest of Employers", I have to express my repugnance at such a regressive attitude from a group representing Island employers.

Recommendations prepared by the Employment Standards Review Panel have been through a rigorous process of hearings, consultations, and research and are awaiting approval by the government. The process by which these recommendations came into being included engagement by the public, community groups, and employers. Much thought was put into updating outdated employment standards that really were designed for workplaces that existed fifty years ago and did not reflect the reality of today's work environments. Secondly, consideration was put into bringing the Employment Standards in line with the bare minimums that exist in other provinces. Finally, the panel looked at the best way to balance the needs of employers and the need to protect PEI workers from exploitation.

Some of the recommendations that the Chamber protests makes the employers that they represent look extremely mean-spirited and greedy. They object to such principles as: paying employees a livable wage; allowing employees unpaid time off to grieve a death, be ill, or look after sick family; job security for senior employees; allowing women to have job security while on maternity leave; pay employees for reasonable overtime - and many more.

It is the opinion of the PEI Working Group for a livable Income and all the organizations that this group represents that the recommendations that the review panel has made are a step in the right direction to protect our most vulnerable workers in PEI. We know that there are many responsible and fair employers in PEI that believe in rewarding the hard work of their employees by treating them with dignity and as humans, rather than as an expense to their business.

We urge employers to show their support of these important recommendations.

Michelle MacCallum
Member, PEI Working Group for a Livable Income