Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) - Canada (Ratification: 1935)

Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application. British Columbia. The Committee notes that, under section 3(2) of the Employment Standards Act, its provisions on hours of work do not apply to workers covered by a collective agreement. It requests the Government to specify the manner in which it satisfies itself that the hours of work of employees covered by such collective agreements do not exceed certain limits. The Committee further notes that, in response to a previous comment on the hours of work of BC Rail employees, the Government states that most operations of BC Rail have been transferred to the Canadian National Railway, which is regulated by federal legislation. For the operations that remain under provincial jurisdiction, the Committee notes that, according to the Government, specific standards apply to the employees concerned, and requests the Government to provide copies of the relevant texts.

Manitoba. The Committee notes that according to section 9 of the Employment Standards Code, the Code’s provisions on hours of work do not apply to employees whose standard hours of work are determined under the Construction Industry Wages Act. It notes that this Act provides for the establishment of various wages boards, whose duties include determining the maximum standard hours of work that employees may be required to do in any day, week or month. The Committee further notes that according to the Government’s report, the rules applying in this sector were consolidated in 2006 into a uniform standard of ten hours per day and 40 hours per week. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the new provisions applying in this area.

Article 6, paragraph 1(b). Temporary exceptions. Alberta. The Committee notes that under section 16(1)(b) and (2) of the Employment Standards Code, the Director of Employment Standards may authorize the limit of 12 hours of work a day to be exceeded, but only to the extent necessary to avoid serious interference with the ordinary working of the business. It requests the Government to specify the kind of circumstances in which such authorizations are granted.

Article 8. Posting of hours of work. British Columbia. The Committee takes note of the information sent by the Government in response to its previous comment, to the effect that the requirement for employers to display notices on hours of work was abolished owing to technical and logistical difficulties. It notes that, as a matter of good business practice, employers continue to post notices to facilitate the smooth operation of their businesses, and to disseminate the information electronically or in other appropriate ways, and that the Director of Employment Standards Branch continues to have the ability to require the posting of these notices on a case by case basis. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that Article 8 of the Convention requires employers to notify hours of work but does not impose any medium for such notification. What matters is that workers must be provided with accurate and timely information about their hours of work. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will take prompt measures to require notification of such information by such methods as it may deem appropriate.

Part VI of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the information sent by the Government concerning Alberta’s programme to secure compliance with the legislation which now involves site visits. It also notes the statistical data sent by the Government of Quebec which show that in 2007 the average length of the working week was 34.5 hours, and that only five per cent of employees worked more than 40 hours a week. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the practical effect given to the Convention, including extracts from reports of the labour inspection services and, if possible, statistics on the number of workers protected by the federal and provincial legislation, the number and nature of reported breaches of the hours of work provisions in laws and regulations, and the measures taken to end them.