The government Couillard wants to “offer more time for families”

Photo Simon Clark
The prime minister Philippe Couillard congratulated the minister, Dominique Vien, which was filed Tuesday, his reform of labour standards.

Marc-André Gagnon

Tuesday, 20 march 2018 15:37

UPDATE
Tuesday, 20 march 2018 15:41

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After a few months of delay, the Labour minister, Dominique Vien, was finally tabled on Tuesday, his reform of labor standards with which the government Couillard wants to offer, just in time for the elections, “more time for the family.”

In the press conference, the minister Vien has praised the “courage” and “audacity” shown by the government in filing this reform.

The last update of the act respecting labour standards, adopted in 1979, dates back to 2002.

“Since then, the reality of workers and workers and employers has changed,” said Ms. Vien.

Only the “new” differences of treatment shall be prohibited

As revealed by our parliamentary Bureau, last December, the new legislative framework proposed by the minister Vien aims to make it illegal, the clauses of the so-called “orphan” with respect to the pension plans and benefits.

Even if the wage question was settled at the end of the 90s, the trade unions have been demanding for several years that it is prohibited for an employer to offer a pension plan and an insurance plan collective less than their colleagues with more seniority.

These disparities of treatment will now be prohibited, but only for the workers who will be hired after the sanction of the bill, including the path through the parliamentary procedure is just beginning.

Indeed, important nuance, a kind of “grandfather clause” will allow employers to maintain dual regimes in place prior to the entry into force of the law. In other words, the government rule the future but not the past.

If the law were in force today, Quebec would become the first canadian province to ban the terms “orphan”.

More vacations, less overtime

The modernisation of the law on labour standards, proposed by the government Couillard plans to move from five, to three, the number of years of service required before being able to benefit from three weeks of vacation per year.

The number of holidays for relatives helping parents and victims of domestic violence, among others will also be greatly increased. However, it will be the modernization potential of the québec parental insurance Plan (QPIP) to review the number of maternity leave and parental leave.

For additional time, once the reform is adopted, an employee will now be able to refuse to work more than two hours beyond his normal working hours day-to-day, instead of four hours, as is the case in the current act.

Police officers, firefighters, nurses, and other workers whose nature of duties requires that they remain in availability will be an exception to this rule.

More details to come…