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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1980-05-21, Page 2gham Advance -Times, May 21, 1980 siness association meeting .mployersi rights, obligations.. re�►ie�nr 1'�itilsfieldworker In other business the et- 1 ', reviewed its at1, :,,r the Sidewalk Sale tt, 'w ner, in conjunction the , inior Citizens' st. noted ' position '40n o building housing in Crwimshank Park has been cessful, and John Cullen sproposed that the associatign should follow up and make sure the seniors' housing does get built else- where in town. However no action was taken at the meeting;� The association's next meeting June 12 will include a tour of,the Bruce Nuclear Power Development. A group of local employers 'got a short course on Ontario's Employment Standards Act during the meeting of the Wingham Business Association last - week. Guest speaker Harold Engler, a fieldworker for Huron and Perth counties with the Ministry of Labor, outlined for the merchants what they owe their em- ployees under the Act, as well as giving some tips on how to fire an employee without notice or severance Icy • And he urged the association members to lobby their member of the provincial parliament for changesif they feel the Act hurts their businesses or is weighted .in favor of the workers. "It's tough out there," Mr. Engler told 'the group, composed mainly of Wingham merchants and small business ownexs, and he said if they want to get rid of an employee they must lay down the law and then stick to their guns. While formal notice in writing of between one and eight weeks, depending on the length of employment, or payment in lieu of notice normally is required to fire an employee, the Act per- mits firing without notice or pay for "willful misconduct, willful disobedience or will- ful neglect of duty", he said. He explained that in general -`willful' means premeditated. If an em- ployeeis in the habit of coming to work late and the employer condones it, he cannot suddenly fire the worker for coming in late. However if he warns the worker that the next time he arrives late, no 'matter what the circumstances, "even if he loses a leg the night before", he will be fired, and the worker still C--oi` es i late, the employer can' summarily fire him. "In order to save yourself money document ''these warnings and make sure the employee is aware of it," Mr. Engler advised. He said the Employment Standards Act basically covers employees who don't have unions or bargaining agents to act for them, noting that 60 to 65 per cent of the workforce in Ontario is not organized. Under the Act the standard work week is' 48 hours, with overtime payable after 44 hours, and the minimum wage set at $3.00 an hour. The Act does permit a `learner' rate of $2.90 per hour for a maximum of one month, as well as a special rate of $2.50 per hour for waiters and waitresses in establishments serving liquor "because of the tip factor", be said. However he added the ministry has done a survey regarding' tips and found not all employees are getting them, so that could be changed. The minimum wage for the construction industry is $3.25 an hour, with no learner's rate, and the work week there is 55 hours. The' Act also provides a minimum wagd of $2.15 per hour, for students under the age of 18 who are attending classes. Students paid at this rate may not work more than 28 hours a week during the school year, or else they must be paid the full $3.00, Mr. Engler said. During the summer they can work up to 48 hours a week. He also outlined the regulations regarding statutory holidays, vacation ,.may and equal pay for men and women. There are seven statutory holidays for which an em- ployee must be paid, provided he has worked at least 12 days during the pre- vious four weeks and works his normal days before and after the holiday, Mr. Engler said. Vacation pay is the oldest piece in the legislation and causes the most action for his branch, he added. It is set at four per cent of an em- ployee's pay, which works out to two weeks paid holidays per year. An em- ployee is . entitled to the vacation pay after working for one year, but the em- ployer has up to an ad- ditional 10 months in which to give the holidays. However an employer is not obliged to give paid sick leave or to provide coffee breaks, he said. These are negotiable items and not covered by the legislation. Regarding equal pay for equal work by men and women, he said the Women's Bureau at Queen's Park is "quite "heavy ori this", but hasn't arrived at a satisfactory method of defining work of equal value. As a result there are loop- holes in the legislation "big 'enough to drive a semi- trailerthrough". Basically, when a male and female are working in the same place and doing substantially the same job, they must get equal pay, he said. "You are going to hear more about it, I can tell you that. Mr L. i,:an ',net what ..an uappen if ,e ployer doesn't live up W i..� obligations ander the Act. While the ministry usually takes a low-key approach to resolving problems, an uncooperative employer can be taken to court. Penalties are provided under the Criminal Code, and range up to a $10,000 fine and six months in jail. John McInnes claimed the Act gives all the breaks to the employees and none to the small businessman, and he was advised to see his MPP and push for changes. MRS. LEWIS STONEHOUSE Belgrave Personal- Notes Holiday weekend, visitors at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Edgar were Mr. and Mrs. Maitland Edgar, Dianne and Dean, Mr. and Mrs.1 Michael Park, all of Petrolia, Ricardo Rescal- dani of Argentina, South America, Miss Brenda Edgar of Waterloo. Mr. and Mrs. George Michie visited on the holiday weekend with Dr. Donald and Mrs. Whitfield of Sault Ste. Marie. Jesse Arnold, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Louttit of Thunder Bay, was re- ceived into Knox United Church, Belgrave, at the Sunday morning ' service. Mr. and Mrs. Louttit and Andrea are former Belgrave residents. Mr. and Mrs. Carman Farrier and Carol of Long Branch spent ,the weekend with her 'mother, Mrs. Nel- son Higgins, NTr. and Mrs. Ross Wight - man, Tracey, Pamela and Kevin of Fergus visited on the weekend .. with Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Wightman. • Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Vin- cent of Oakville, Mr. and Mrs. Americo Arruda, Maria and Michelle of Toronto, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Logan, Kevin and Trevor of Wyoming visited on the holi- day weekend with Mrs. Cliff Logan. Mr. and Mrs. Barry Logan, Michael and Shawn of Burlington are spending a week at their farm. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gor- don and Margaret Ann, Mrs. Lawrence ' Taylor spent the weekend with Mr. and Mrs. Ron Kirkham and Ken and Mrs. Ruth Coyne�of Windsor. Mr. and "`Q. Gerald Dennis, Darlene and Laurie of Waterloo visited on Mon- day ' with Mr. and Mrs. Leonard James. This *reeli the tlalai:. development ,committee ittee wndertoo t the stat* of the estjmatea of the M41nil try of CollegeaThe tnandhdUnislervers 1 . , Iln In- troduchig" the speinding program for 0004q, drew. attention to the fact :there was an actual -decline in', overall enrolment universities of about 2.9 cent, although it was not an across-the-board decline. Enrolment in engineering and, applied sciences, the health professions and the social sciences nti • to grow, while enrolment in mathematics and physical sciences remained steady and declines occurred in education, humanities and life sciences. The minister indicated an immediate concern Over the chronic deficiency in the skilled trades area. In the field of apprenticeship a master -plan is in the process of development, ` with an objective to achieve 12,000 additional active ap- prentices in two years anda five per cent reduction in the dropout rate in 1980-81 and 10 per cent in 1981-82. Part of the master plan includes a - °Linkage' program to inform young people in secondary schOols of . the opportunities in various trades. The program is designed to identify young people who have an interest and the potential to enter the skilled trades sector' of the work' force. $3' linking students early with a trades training program, they can accomplish in advance the basic in -school training course for the apprentice- ship, thereby reducing the time required to complete an apprenticeship. As of January 31, 1980, 11,422 students were enrolled in the occupations presently within this program. In addition employers con- nected with eight oc- cupations which have shown a critical skills shortage will be given special financial assistance to encourage their involvement in training programs. Fitter -welder and instrument . mechanic . are two _new, Ns i11.aips, which haveAcientittentifted#S0eing in,shdrt supply. Last June a special ad- ditional dditional operating grant of $7 million was provided to the colleges of applied arts and technology to cover the direct academic and educational resources cost TIFF LIZZY—Some of the Wingham Lions couldn't wait until morn- ing to tell Joan Crawford her name was drawn, during the Show of Stars on Thursday ev'eninfg, for the Lions' Tin Lizzy. Immediately following the show the miniature car was transported down to her home and the Crawfords were awakened to accept the prize. Here are Nick O'Donohue, Lions president; Anil Bodasing, then Craw- ford, Quinn O'Donohue, Steve Crawford, Archie Hill, and behind the wheel of her winnings, Mrs. Crawford. a ditit hi .40 t0 udents,! many o whom,wtllt,"sttaken .advantage...4the teeltnicai available at the �g s. • it is interesting to note the job placement success of the . community • college graduates, In 18?9 there were 18,591 graduates frown the colleges, and as of Nov. 5cent 1 , 1979', 69:1 per of the ''79..._.graduates who were available for employment had obtained jobs. The Ina atwr 3154 ^nm- mented on the student support program, ex- pressing concern about the accessibility of post- secondary education to all students in—Ontario. The current estimates reflect in- creased funding in &number of student assistance til and lir have bee int i the Ontario . Assistancel'rogri 17,00, to -O2 from week of study, ThOugroOtt. applien to students studying away from acute. A,ddltional neett*ruling from tuition fee aiincrea .es et Ontario; colleges and: u ntversiities will be . Met through increased grans or loans to students qualifying for ass*, ur ee tinder s The merit based Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program, which now. stands as $1,630 per term, has been increased to offset the effect of tuition fee increases in universities in 1980-81. Students who could not apply for grants in 1,979-80 because they had -already completed the equivalent of t ,assets of t be considered ,cal o f4 tylia small t he.hoi inthe cOoshi on of ass for married students ass' ss' . ldente W1, 1 tai Bats. R. W. Bell OPTOMETRIST Goderich The Square 524-766 pout ronwdd��ts ytou've been waging he war on wild - oats for years. But it Will take a powerful\ force to make a dent in the enemy's armour. This year Uniroyal Chemical has committed Wypout to the fight and this hard-hitting herbi- cide is going to make its ,presence felt very quickly. 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