CRFA encouraged by changes to Saskatchewan labour legislation

REGINA, Dec. 4, 2012 /CNW/ - The restaurant sector welcomes much-needed changes to labour legislation announced today by Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Minister Don Morgan.  Bill 85 - The Saskatchewan Employment Act - addresses a number of concerns flagged by the province's restaurant sector during this summer's public consultation process.

"These steps toward modernizing Saskatchewan's labour legislation are welcome," says Dwayne Marling, Manitoba-Saskatchewan Vice President for the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA). "We are particularly supportive of the streamlining of the legislation into a single comprehensive Act, and are encouraged that many of the issues we raised in our submission have been addressed in this legislation."

Positive changes include:

• consolidation of 12 Acts into one;
• modification of work week provisions to allow for a 10-hour day/ 4-day work week without overtime; and
• not extending Saskatchewan's already very generous annual leave and public holiday provisions.

Earlier this year, CRFA submitted its comments on the modernization of Saskatchewan's labour legislation in response to the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety's Consultation Paper - and the government has clearly acted on the majority of the concerns raised by CRFA.

"Our members are disappointed, however, that the government has not yet taken action to introduce either a differential training minimum wage for new employees, or a tip differential minimum wage for serving staff in licensed premises," says Marling. "We look forward to further discussions on this with Minister Morgan and his Cabinet colleagues."

The restaurant industry directly employs 32,600 people, making it one of the top four private-sector employers in Saskatchewan. More than half of these employees are young people under the age of 25.

CRFA is one of Canada's largest business associations, with more than 30,000 members representing restaurants, bars, caterers, institutions and other foodservice providers. Canada's $65-billion restaurant industry employs more than 1.1 million people in communities across the country.

SOURCE: Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association

CONTACT:  Dwayne Marling 204-688-8557(cell); 1-877-926-8557 or [email protected]