Canada Labor Code sets the rights & responsibilities of employers and employees within federally regulated sectors such as telecommunication companies and banks.
Every province has its own labor and employment laws for fair pay, hours of work, and all working conditions.
The employment Equity Act and the Federal Contractors Program are the two acts that require employers to work to improve employment opportunities in Canada.
Rights of Foreign Workers
The laws made by the Canadian Government protect all Canadian as well as foreign workers.
Foreign Workers have the right to:
- Be compensated for their work;
- Have a safe workplace; and
- Keep their passport and work permits.
Before the start of employment, the employer must give a copy of the employment agreement containing all the information about occupation, wage & working conditions to the employee.
Both the parties must have to sign the agreement & it should be written in English or French.
Additionaly, the employer must have to serve a resonable notice period before laying off the employee. If the employer do not serves the notice period, than he must pay the termination pay, based on how long the employee had worked for the employer.
Health & Safety at Work
The employer must provide a safe workplace to the employees. This includes providing protective equipements and training the employees to use any of the machineries.
The employee, must not be forced to do any work that is dangerous and can not be fired or denied to pay for refusing to work under dangerous conditions.
The employee have the right to work until the employer agrees that:
- The danger is removed, and the problem no longer exists; and
- You have received the proper training and equipment.
Workplace Free of Abuse
The employer must make the necessary efforts to provide workers with a workplace free of abuse.
Some examples are:
- Physical harm
- Threats or insults
- Unwanted sexual touching
- Controlling where you can go and who you can see
- Stealing from you
- Taking any or all the money you are owed
- Taking and refusing to return your passport, work permit or any other identification
- Forcing you to commit fraud
- Actions or threats of demotion, disciplinary measures, or dismissal due to reporting your employer for non-compliance or complaining about your working conditions or abuse.
Duty to Accommodate
Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, there are 11 grounds of discrimination are considered:
- Race;
- National or ethnic origin;
- Color;
- Religion;
- Age;
- Sex;
- Sexual orientation;
- Marital status;
- Family status;
- Disability; and
- A conviction for which a pardon has been granted or a record suspended.
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[…] In Canada, the rights of all workers, including temporary foreign workers, are protected by law. If you are a temporary foreign […]
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