We have learned that the report of the Special Advisors involved in the Ontario government’s major review of labour law will be released ‘in the first half of 2017’.   We are hoping the final ‘Changing Workplaces Review’ document reflects some of the recommendations CMG put forward on behalf of reality and factual TV workers.

The CMG is calling for changes in 3 main areas:

1.Changes that would, for the first time, give workers in our sector access to collective bargaining.  One example is ‘sectoral bargaining’, which would mean the possibility of negotiating a contract affecting the entire industry, instead of company-specific contracts.

2.Amendments to the Employment Standards Act that would eliminate the exemptions that prevent our workers from getting such things as an 8-hour day, overtime after 48 hours a week, paid holidays and earned vacation pay.

3.Changes in definitions of who we are under labour law. Currently, most people in our industry are defined as ‘independent contractors’, when most work as ’employees’ when they are engaged in a contract.  This is important because ’employees’ have many more legislative rights.

In January, CMG was part of a panel chaired by one of the two men co-writing the  ‘Changing Workplaces Review’, Michael Mitchell.  

“The Ontario government’s review of labour law was prompted by  the growing number of precarious and vulnerable workers in the province,” says Lise Lareau, coordinator of the Fairness in Factual TV Campaign. “And this was a great opportunity to shed some light on our part of that picture and speak directly to one of the people behind a very important policy document.”

Read Lise Lareau’s notes for her presentation here.

Read the 300-page Interim Report of Ontario’s Changing Workplaces Review