Posted: Friday, 1 December 2006

General principles

The CLC sought a model Labour Code at the federal level taking full account of today’s realities in the workplace, and in the wider society, especially the growing imbalance of power between workers and employers; increased competitive pressures which exert downward pressures on labour rights and standards in the absence of countervailing public regulation; the growth of more precarious forms of employment; growing difficulties reconciling paid work with caring responsibilities, especially for women; and a more racially diverse workforce.

We argued that there should be effective access to minimum rights and standards for all workers in the federal jurisdiction at least equal to the best standards at the provincial level, and also reflecting norms which have been clearly established in collective agreements and in international labour standards. The current federal Code falls well short of best provincial practice in a number of key areas, including enforcement, leave provisions, and protection of human rights.

Labour rights and standards at the federal level and in Canada also fall well short of the norm in other advanced industrial countries (e.g., paid leave, maximum hours, minimum pay standards, and protection of part-time and contract workers). A floor of widely observed labour rights and standards is an important part of creating a more productive economy, as well as a fairer society, as demonstrated by the good economic performance of many jurisdictions with high labour standards.

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