Employers Slashing Hours to Cut Costs

The 15 hour Workweek; Canada’s Part-time Problem

 When you get below 15hrs a week you’re getting into corruption level; the employer is cutting costs and the employee suffers the brunt of it. Job insecurity; the possibility of hours getting cut even further if complaints are made and there is no protection from the government against these practices. Families are getting torn apart due to lack of money resulting in community interventions by social services alleging neglect by parents who are struggling financially under the burden of saving the employers some money. This all under the guise of being gainfully employed.

 When a company pulls this sort of cost-cutting measure and harms a family to the point of irreparable harm, the company needs to be brought to account and fined severely with perhaps the company being liable for damages to be paid to the employee.

 However business owners will cry foul at any rate and they are protected under current labour laws with no mandatory minimum hours which in essence allows an employer all the leverage to hold you on the books limiting other employment opportunities by the intention of having you on call while holding a metaphorical gun to your head saying that “if you don’t make yourself available; we’ll find cause to terminate your employment.”

This type of employment practice is unethical in any sense of the word. Essentially you are an employee with low to no hours. What is even more unethical is that labour laws allow this and there needs to be drastic changes made. If the British Columbia Labour Standards Board won’t start amending their laws to prevent this sort of behaviour by employers; then they are just as complicit in the harm that is being done to families who have part-time family members being underutilized.

 And they should be held accountable for damages and punished.