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The Ontario government has sent a letter to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario promising to exempt municipalities from some aspects of the controversial workplace standards bill that could have proven extremely costly for cities and towns.
The letter, sent Tuesday evening and signed by Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Mauro and Labour Minister Kevin Flynn, is in response to criticism from the Association about the amount of extra money Bill 148 could cost them.
The bill targets contract, part-time and on-call workers, including volunteer firefighters, and requires employers to schedule those workers a minimum of 96 hours in advance of a shift and to pay them a minimum of three hours, regardless of whether their shift is cancelled. The Association of Municipalities had asked for exemptions to the scheduling inclusions, arguing it could cost municipalities millions of dollars more annually.
The exclusions being offered to municipalities will also remove a requirement that part-time or voluntary firefighters should be paid as much as a permanent firefighter.
Ottawa employs 485 volunteer firefighters, about 36 per cent of its firefighting force. There are 858 full-time firefighters. Using an estimate provided by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, which says the average part-time or volunteer firefighter will be making a minimum of $27,375 per year, the cost to the city for volunteer firefighters under the proposed bill could be as high as $13.3 million per year.
Under last year’s budget, Ottawa Fire Services received $159 million.
In their letter, the ministers state that they recognize the contribution municipalities make in employing 238,000 people and are agreeing to the exemptions in order to continue supporting municipalities as they work to contain spending.
“We appreciate the support from Ontario’s 444 municipalities and recognize that you have a strong record when it comes to improving your employees lives through better working conditions, more predictable income and access to needed personal time,” reads the letter from the ministers. “Ultimately Bill 148 will help ensure our workplaces are fairer for all Ontarians, and we look forward to your continued partnership in ensuring fairness and decency for all Ontario workers and in all Ontario workplaces.”
The Association of Municipalities applauded the “good news” on Wednesday in a video statement on its website.
“Municipal governments received some good news last night from the ministers of labour and municipal affairs, that we’ve received some key fixes to Bill 148,” said Lynn Dollin, president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario in the recorded statement. “The change will go a long way towards our delivery of public services which make our communities safe.”
The possibility of higher wages for on-call workers, specifically the city’s firefighters, sparked concern among Ottawa city councillors who were debating the city’s 2018 draft budget last week. Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans, chair of the city’s protective services committee, called on Mayor Jim Watson to urge the province to consider adding exemptions for municipalities.
More to come.
查看原文...
The letter, sent Tuesday evening and signed by Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Mauro and Labour Minister Kevin Flynn, is in response to criticism from the Association about the amount of extra money Bill 148 could cost them.
The bill targets contract, part-time and on-call workers, including volunteer firefighters, and requires employers to schedule those workers a minimum of 96 hours in advance of a shift and to pay them a minimum of three hours, regardless of whether their shift is cancelled. The Association of Municipalities had asked for exemptions to the scheduling inclusions, arguing it could cost municipalities millions of dollars more annually.
The exclusions being offered to municipalities will also remove a requirement that part-time or voluntary firefighters should be paid as much as a permanent firefighter.
Ottawa employs 485 volunteer firefighters, about 36 per cent of its firefighting force. There are 858 full-time firefighters. Using an estimate provided by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, which says the average part-time or volunteer firefighter will be making a minimum of $27,375 per year, the cost to the city for volunteer firefighters under the proposed bill could be as high as $13.3 million per year.
Under last year’s budget, Ottawa Fire Services received $159 million.
In their letter, the ministers state that they recognize the contribution municipalities make in employing 238,000 people and are agreeing to the exemptions in order to continue supporting municipalities as they work to contain spending.
“We appreciate the support from Ontario’s 444 municipalities and recognize that you have a strong record when it comes to improving your employees lives through better working conditions, more predictable income and access to needed personal time,” reads the letter from the ministers. “Ultimately Bill 148 will help ensure our workplaces are fairer for all Ontarians, and we look forward to your continued partnership in ensuring fairness and decency for all Ontario workers and in all Ontario workplaces.”
The Association of Municipalities applauded the “good news” on Wednesday in a video statement on its website.
“Municipal governments received some good news last night from the ministers of labour and municipal affairs, that we’ve received some key fixes to Bill 148,” said Lynn Dollin, president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario in the recorded statement. “The change will go a long way towards our delivery of public services which make our communities safe.”
The possibility of higher wages for on-call workers, specifically the city’s firefighters, sparked concern among Ottawa city councillors who were debating the city’s 2018 draft budget last week. Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans, chair of the city’s protective services committee, called on Mayor Jim Watson to urge the province to consider adding exemptions for municipalities.
More to come.
查看原文...
