Canadian Labour Reporter

lAboUr brieFs 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2015 ontario company directors get jail time, fi ne for oHSa violation TORONTO — Two company directors in Ontario are facing jail time after being found guilty by the labour ministry for the death of a warehouse worker. On Jan. 13, the Ministry of Labour (MOL) fined New Mex Canada — a furniture retailer headquartered in Brampton, Ont. — $250,000 and sentenced two of its di- rectors to 25 days each in jail for violations under the Occu- pational Health and Safety Act and Ontario Regulation 851 (the latter of which governs indus- trial workplaces). The company plead guilty for the death of one of its warehouse employees al- most two years ago. Back in January 2013, the worker had been using a machine called an order picker, which is a combination of a forklift and op- erator-up platform. According to the MOL, there was not adequate fall protection equipment, nor was the employee wearing ap- propriate protective equipment. "The added platform did not have a guardrail around it and the worker using it was not wearing fall protection or safety shoes," a statement from the labour minis- try reads. "The worker was found on the floor and was pronounced dead. The cause of death was later determined to be blunt force trauma to the head." The move was lauded by the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), which has long called for jail time for health and safety transgressions. "When employer negligence leads to a worker's death, it is not an accident, it is a crime — and those responsible must be sen- tenced to the full extent of the law," said Sid Ryan, president of the OFL. But time in prison is not enough for such convictions, he said, adding the OFL is pushing for criminal charges to be laid in addition to OHSA violations. "Workplace fatalities have ris- en 36 per cent over the past five years and the only way to stop this carnage in the workplace is to put negligent bosses behind bars," Ryan said. "A mere 25 days in jail and $250,000 fine does not send a strong enough message. A worker's life should be worth far more." demands at bargaining table to be restrained in 2015: report OTTAWA — Modest economic growth will likely reel in demands at the bargaining table in 2015, according to a report from the Conference Board of Canada. In its annual Industrial Rela- tions Outlook report, the inde- pendent research organization noted the overall bargaining climate is expected to be con- strained by modest economic growth. As well, public sector unions will curb demands for improved wages and benefits, as most provinces face debt and deficit challenges and continue to trumpet austerity budgets. "The state of the economy has led to widespread uncertainty, and this will serve to temper expectations at the bargaining table," said Bryce Swerhun, a research associate at the board. "With neither side in a position to raise expectations, the overall bargaining climate will encour- age co-ordination, if not full co- operation this year." According to the report, aver- age base pay increases for union- ized workers in 2015 are project- ed to be 1.5 per cent in the public sector, and 2.2 per cent for the private sector. With public sector contracts expired or expiring soon, ne- gotiations will be plentiful. Of note is Quebec's bargaining with hundreds of thousands of unionized provincial staffers. Because of tightened budgets, most union demands for im- proved wages and benefits will be constrained. This is not necessarily bad news, the report notes, as mod- est economic growth should quell employer demands for concessions. In the private sector, bargain- ing will vary widely by industry and region. Of late, there has been encouraging growth in the manufacturing industry, but the conference board called such improvements "tenuous" and employers may not yet be able — or willing — to forego past con- cessions. The overall climate in 2015, coupled with modest economic growth, provides an opportunity for management and unions to address medium- and long-term challenges at the bargaining table. A South Korean court ruled in favour with Hyundai in a wage dis- pute with workers, much to the chagrin of the union. ForMerLY CLV rePorTS Serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com Published weekly by omson reuters Canada Ltd. 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