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Opposition parties in Nova Scotia and some advocacy organizations are calling for the province to do more to protect workers’ rights and improve labour conditions.
They brought their concerns forward Tuesday during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Human Resources in Province House.
NDP labour critic Paul Wozney said government is missing the mark when it comes to providing workers the wages and support needed to thrive.
“Interestingly, we’ve heard the premier be a champion — if it’s good enough for other places it’s good enough for Nova Scotia — and yet, we see protections for workers in places elsewhere in Canada not being afforded to Nova Scotian workers,” said Wozney.
According to the president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, the province ranks as one of the lowest in the country when it comes to worker protections and wages.
Melissa Marsman noted that the gap between the projected living wage in the province and the actual minimum wage has continued to grow since 2018.
“I’m not going to sit here and (say) a minimum wage increase means nothing, but they clearly need to keep pace with the cost of living, which is not happening,” said Marsman.
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She added that Nova Scotia is one of the last provinces to have overtime pay kick in after 48 hours in a single work week. In comparison, New Brunswick’s threshold is 44 hours and Newfoundland and Labrador’s threshold is 40 hours.
Marsman warns the high threshold in Nova Scotia will only cause further problems as the cost of living increases.
“We have workers who are working these overtime shifts because they don’t make enough money in this province,” she said. “So they’re going to take those shifts (and are going to) burn out. That’s going to put a strain on our health-care system where there’s already a strain.”
Wozney said the province should indeed look at lowering the hours.
“If we lowered the threshold for overtime from 48 to 40 hours, that would mean an extra $500 a month for most Nova Scotian workers,” said Wozney.
The rights of migrant workers was also brought up at the meeting.
Stacey Gomez with the Center for Migrant Worker Rights Nova Scotia addressed the committee, saying the province should strengthen workers protections by removing agricultural exemptions for overtime and holiday pay, as well as introduce paid sick days.
“In our study, 77 per cent of migrant workers feared that they would be fired for simply taking time off to address health needs,” she said.
The group is also calling for MSI coverage on arrival for migrant workers to ensure equitable access to health-cares services.
Ryan Grant, deputy minister with the Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration, told the committee the province has made improvements — particularly through protecting five unpaid sick days for workers and increasing workers’ compensation.
As well, Grant pointed out the province has protected leaves for miscarriages and intimate partner violence.
“There have been a number of initiatives and efforts as of late to look at a number of different areas for worker protection to advance and then strengthen,” he said.
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