PURPOSE: This briefing note is a recommendation for changes in policy pertaining to the labor standards.
ISSUE: There is not enough regulation on labor standards.
Background:
Labor standards in the province are governed by Employment Standards Act. It is this law which stipulates how employment is administered within the province. The purposes of such act are to ensure that “employees in British Columbia receive at least basic standards of compensation and conditions of employment,” fair treatment in the workplace, open communications with those whomsoever may be in the workplace, dispute resolution, develop a labor force that benefits the province, and assist employees to meet work and family demands.
The industrial era brought about the way by which people do labor in the UK. It was this era that established the foundation by which all labor is conducted. What had occurred in this time frame was that factory owners sought to extract surplus value from their workers. To detail, a worker outputs what is originally called value at a cost. The cost is lower than the sum value that the worker produced so as to keep the business functional. Once the cost is deducted from the sum value produced by the worker, the surplus value remains and this henceforth is what is referred to as profit. It is a simple concept to understand however, what had transpired in this era was the fact that factory owners sought to exploit their workers. Such exploitation resulted in many injuries and deaths. These were a result of many factors not limited to poor working conditions, exhaustion, lack of communication and poor treatment. The Employment Standards Act aims to address these many of the issues that arose as a result of such exploitation. Exploitation can be defined as; the act of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work. Exploitation is a major issue in the modern era. There are several companies in Canada which have unfairly treated their employees or the public. SNC Lavalin, an engineering firm based in Montreal for example was involved in a negative scandal by which the company bribed a public servant to build the Hospital in Montreal. Public funds were transferred to the CEO and to aforesaid public servant. Further, cheap material was used to erect the structure in question. This resulted in many issues such as leaks and cracks. Another example is G4S. This company was accused of mistreatment people such that their guards were abusive. The Aquilini Group on the other hand, neglected migrant workers by not paying them properly. At Fiera Foods, numerous employees died as a result of poor working conditions or not meeting the standards. Lastly, Sodexo, a food company was accused of scalping- a term used to refer to selecting questionable quality of ingredients.
With all these companies highlighted, it becomes evident that employment in Canada is becoming negligent of its workers. Negligence has several elements which must be present before something can be deemed negligent. Negligence is a tort. A tort is an act that causes harm or injury to another. Negligence requires a duty to care, breach of a standard of care, causation and damages. For the most part, the legislation addresses most of these. However, causation needs to be addressed by the Act so that both businesses and employees can move forward. Causation is established when the “but for” test confirms an injury is a result of a specific conduct. Yes, there are provisions that address dispute however, more focus should be emphasized on mitigating causation. In labor work, employees take the voluntary risk to be in the workplace. A lot of these workplaces are colorless and lifeless. Many are light with fixtures that induce anxiety. Breaks in between periods of work are stipulated as if these people are same as office workers. This briefing note is going to focus on these issues to deal with the prevention of negligence in the Canadian work force and help establish a more comprehensive Employment Standards Act which contrasts itself from other provisions of similar working conditions around the world.
Considerations:
As it pertains to labor work specifically, there seems to be a philosophy of too tiered or exhausted to care. It is this that results in injury. Such occors when problems arise at work wherein there is a shortage of staff. To prevent such causation, factories and warehouses must give their employees more concessions to preform the work. It is true that such concessions can be negotiated in collective agreements however, these workers consist of many people that lack a thorough understanding of what is occurring in these places thus, negotiations as per the Employment Standards Act fall short and do not meet the values of the West. Being in Canada means, to have a higher standard of living and part of that is having working conditions that make work easy or fulfilling. Clearly, what has occurred in the labor force, is that these people work in miserable conditions perpetuating a stress induced depression. Before delving into this further, it is important to look at how some working conditions were established in the modern age. The Tata group is a vehicle company based in India. It was this company that helped and realized that its employees were valuable assets and thus they sought to reward them with handsome benefits in return. For example, this company established maternity leaves, the eight- hour workday, free medical aid for staff, accident compensation, and other welfare schemes. Further, in 1956 they decided to involve staff into management. These have been all brought forward in modern legislation however, there are yet still problems that persist to make workers not value their employment. One of the major issues is depression in the workplace. Such example in detail is a company in China referred to as FOXCONN. This company produces consumer electronics. It is a streamlined process wherein workers conduct a single task for the entirety of the shift. These workers work in an unflattering factory or warehouse. They are frequently mistreated by management. All of this results in depression for the workers. There have been numerous suicides as a result. It is these working conditions that are reminiscent of the industrial era working conditions that the Employment Standards Act seeks to alleviate. Now, with consideration that Canadians are a part of the West, is it not better standards the reason why people work here. To avoid the exploitation and to experience joys with their family. There are a lot of migrant and immigrant workers working in the labor force today. Canada needs to provide more equitable solutions to the matter involving how labor is administered in this country. This can be done by making the Employment Standards Act more comprehensive and catered to individual fields of work. What has occurred with aforesaid legislation is really a form of wrong against the employees. It is arguably a tort, a wrong or harm to another. Specifically, it is a crime of generalization. By generalizing all work conditions in the country, Canada affirms that all employment conducted in it country is the same as they attempt to establish a basic standards. This is wrong and many of the labor force employees do not have the competent capacity to be able to verbalize these issues in a meaningful way. According to the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in 2021, “recovery from work means letting your brain, body and mind take a break from work and recuperate”. Clearly the recovery periods from physical work vs psychological work are different. The Employment Standards Act however assumes that both recover in the same manner. Further, as it pertains to labor work, the environment can be a causation by which employees get depressed. According to science there are specific lightings and fixtures that promote optimal psychological wellbeing. According to OHSU in 1999 they say “most doctors prescribe bright light therapy as a treatment to counteract the effects of winter depression.” As for fixtures, it gives the factory or warehouse more character which then people would seek meaning. For colors however, according to the London Image Institute, “Color can play an important role in conveying information nonverbally, creating certain moods, and even influencing the decisions people make.” Perhaps painting these workplaces with a color to act on depressive states would benefit the people. When labor is concerned, it is evident that job satisfaction is at an all time low. Is it not time that the labor force addresses this issue so as to give their employees dignity? There is a classification of workers that need to receive more approval by the entire work force. They haven’t been many documented uses for hosts in the work force. Perhaps if businesses consider contracting such worker who talks to employees and also completes tasks with them, it will improve worker satisfaction. With consideration of the foregoing, the causation for depressed workers can be addressed. According to Global News who reported in 2016 “Mental health is costing the Canadian economy billions of dollars, according to a report by the Conference Board of Canada. The board found that depression cost $32.3 billion in lost gross domestic product. Anxiety cost $17.3 billion a year.” The government expenses on depression and anxiety should give a clear depiction on the matter and by addressing concerns in the workplace, much of these can be alleviated. The stakeholders for this matter are the businesses, the unions and the employees. It is important to understand that the current Employment Standards Act has its limitations and needs to be catered to not only to labor but to other fields such as the medical field, legal field, technology, hospitality, etc.
Options:
Option 1: Create a new tort of “generalization”.
Clearly, there are damages that have occurred as a result of generalization. In the case of labor workers, rest periods are unfair. It is important to not only look at the Employment Standards Act but other legislation where such gross misrepresentation has occurred. Generalization causes marginalization through assumption. It is such assumption, that causes people to experience situations wherein they are taken advantage of as is the case with labor workers and break periods. With what has been explained herein, changes must be made to the common law system in Canada. This is going to involve several judges to deliberate however, it would grant Canadians more equity. The feasibility of such change occurring is not likely and if it does, it is going to take some time and investigation of administrative justice provisions. Such change would be very fair specifically with pertinence to the subject on hand, fairness to the employees. It is highly likely that there would be high public acceptance for such change. By addressing such security concern, the government of Canada assures that its citizens are protected under the laws of the land.
Option 2: Start to cater the Employment Standards Act to individual fields, making it more comprehensive.
Commence by addressing the issue of break periods. Clearly physical work is vastly contrasted from psychological work. It is only fair to the employees of factories and warehouses that they are granted better options for their breaks. By making such changes however, it is expected that some industries will push back severely. However, negotiations can take place to benefit both the worker and the business. The feasibility of such changes occurring is very high as well it is expected that public acceptability will be high also. Specifically for labour, if there is a shortage of staff, and the shift is not filled, the salary should be divided amoungst those who are on shift. This would give staff more incentive to remain at work.
Option 3: Mandate specific lighting, paints, suggest fixtures and contract hosts to address worker depression and low job satisfaction.
These rectifications all address the issue of depression and anxiety. Some of these are very expensive to implement in existing structures. There will be severe pushback from employers however, by reducing the depression rate of labor workers, health care expenses will also be reduced. It is up to business and governments to decide on an amicable solution to the issue of mental health in the workplace. From an equity perspective, this option gives employees better working conditions. It will give them the job satisfaction to experience dignity in their job. There is a low feasibility of this occurring however, gradual changes can be implemented to segment the sum cost of all proposed changes. There is likely going to be high public support for such policy as it clearly represents the interest of the worker.
Option 4: Status quo.
This option is not recommended. It would first be negligent. Second it would do a disservice to the entire work force by keeping people in a position whereby they are open for exploitation. Thus, this is not recommended. However, it is likely that businesses would push for such option to maximize profits. There has to be people that come forward to distinguish work done in Canadian shores is different from work done in India or China. If the Canadian government doesn’t act to protect its labor force through competent employees, it could erode relations within the workplace and potentially lead to more severe reactions such as strikes etc.
Recommendation:
Option two is recommended.
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