The workplace rights that are set out in law and in collective agreements help to keep workers safe on the job and make sure all employers have to meet basic standards in how they treat workers.
On this page you can find more information about the two major laws that impact all of us at work in Manitoba: the Labour Relations Act and the Employment Standards Code.
Labour Relations
The Labour Relations Act (LRA) is the law that lays out how you can exercise your right to join a union, and sets out the rules for union-management relations. The LRA provides rules for issues such as:
- the process for certifying a union as the official bargaining agent for workers in a workplace,
- what types of issues can be included in a collective agreement,
- what employer actions are considered “unfair labour practices,”
- processes to resolve deadlocked labour negotiations,
- rules for strikes and lockouts, and
- applications to the Labour Board to settle disputes about LRA.
The Manitoba Federation of Labour continues to lobby for improvements to the Labour Relations Act, including:
- Ensuring the democratic right to form a union by re-establishing card-based union certification, at a simple 50%+1 threshold
- Reducing the length and diviseness of strikes and lockouts by banning the use of replacement workers
To find out more about the LRA you can consult the Manitoba Government’s Guide to the Labour Relations Act or download the full Labour Relations Act.
Employment Standards
Many of the most basic rights and standards that have been won to protect all workers- like the minimum wage, holiday time, maternity leave and over-time pay – are set out in the Employment Standards Code.
The labour movement has always fought passionately to improve the lives and working conditions of all working people, both unionized and non-unionized.
Manitoba’s Employment Standards Code:
- Establishes the minimum wage
- Gives you the right to be paid extra for working over-time or working on public holidays
- Sets out entitlements for vacation time
- Gives you the right to be paid for a minimum number of hours if you’re sent home early from a shift
- Gives you the right to take time off from work to deal with certain family situations, like caring for a sick loved one
- NEW: Gives you the right to take time off from work with pay in order to take steps to deal with domestic violence situations – for more information, click here
- Provides you with basic rights if you are laid off or fired.