Labour law overhaul passes in legislature
Notley uses debate to blast Nixon again over handling of harassment complaint
Legislation to overhaul Alberta’s labour law passed in the legislature Tuesday following heated debate and calls for the resignation of United Conservative Party house leader Jason Nixon.
Nixon argued against Bill 30, which makes a plethora of changes to Alberta’s occupational health and safety as well as the workers’ compensation system. Changes include expanding rules to prevent workplace violence and harassment, launching work site health and safety committees and increasing benefits for young workers who suffer long-term injuries.
Nixon came under fire after a Postmedia story about his former company’s involvement in a 2008 British Columbia human rights tribunal case. The tribunal found a Nixon Safety Consulting employee named Kori Harrison was sexually harassed at a Kelowna work site, and later fired when she complained.
Premier Rachel Notley lambasted Nixon and called for UCP Leader Jason Kenney to axe him. Kenney released a statement in support of Nixon, who said he wouldn’t be stepping down.
“I must also make clear that the UCP does not oppose legislated harassment provisions in Bill 30, and to suggest otherwise is false,” Kenney said in the Tuesday statement.
“Bill 30 is a comprehensive piece of legislation touching on many areas, not strictly limited to harassment. Based on input from stakeholders, we have voiced concerns with other parts of the bill which we believe could result in job losses.”
The legislation — dubbed an Act to Protect the Health and Well-Being of Working Albertans — includes changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, such as giving employees the right to refuse dangerous work and requiring employers to report “near miss” incidents, referring to situations where an injury almost occurred.
Under changes to the Workers’ Compensation Act, families will be entitled to a lump-sum fatality benefit when a loved one dies on the job. The bill also mandates the creation of an office to help people navigate the compensation system.
Young workers who are injured will be able to receive thousands of dollars more in benefits throughout their lives if they are permanently taken out of the workforce.
“Someone between 15 to 24, who is just starting out often in an entry-level position, experiences an injury, they are experiencing that injury at what is often the lowest point of their earning potential in their lives,” said Labour Minister Christina Gray, speaking Nov. 30,
days after introducing new legislation.
“What that means in the current system is that the benefits to a young worker were stuck at very low levels if they happen to suffer a permanent disability and they are unable to get back to work.”
Under the WCB changes, initial compensation will be calculated based on 90 per cent of the worker’s annual net earnings. After two years, the injured worker can either continue to receive that amount, or will be eligible for 90 per cent of the Alberta average weekly earnings, whichever is higher.
“We can’t predict the potential a young person may have had, but we can give them the average weekly earnings as the new baseline rather than keeping them at what is typically a very low salary point when they were injured,” Gray said.
Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said Tuesday, “This is not going to break the bank. We desperately needed a system which recognizes that young people are at the bottom of their income potential.”
McGowan said young workers are more likely to be injured on the job compared to their older colleagues.
“They’re still developing both skills on the job and knowledge of workplace hazards.”
He added a small fraction of workers are injured or killed. The WCB paid out 144 fatality claims in 2016, as well as more than 44,500 disabling injury claims. But the number of young workers permanently injured and prevented from ever returning to work would be much smaller.
“They’re just going to transform the system in a way that will … recognize the unique vulnerabilities of young workers and the need to compensate them in a different way.”