Monday, August 14, 2017

Ontario College of Trades Compliance and Enforcement Changes

Notice to CLAC members, stewards, local board members, and representatives

The Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) Compliance and Enforcement Committee has created a compliance and enforcement policy.

The focus of the policy includes the underground economy, ratios, the public interest, and vulnerable workers.

We recommend that you review this policy. While it has positive points, we have several concerns, which we will address with the college.

For us to critique the policy, we need hard evidence. This means we need to hear from CLAC members on site.

CLAC Observations
The policy equips inspectors with an extremely broad scope of authority. The list of indirect harms that they are to protect against includes the fair functioning of the marketplace, the economy, and the trade system as a whole—without properly defining these terms.

OCOT’s discretion to recognize past practice is also alarming. Some long-standing labour agreements are based on the craft model and do not consider how wall-to-wall unions, such as CLAC, fit in. These practices and precedents could determine the outcome of scope-of-practice disputes among tradespeople. We are not confident that this will serve the construction community well, as case law may favour traditional craft unions, rather than the wall-to-wall model.

We Need Your Help
Please watch how inspectors enforce college rules and this policy. Relay stories to your CLAC representatives regarding

where the policy may threaten wall-to-wall construction and multiskilling;
where enforcement creates ridiculous outcomes that are contrary to the purpose of the college;
any other unintended outcome of the policy;
whether the policy is making improvements in its focus areas (underground economy, ratios, vulnerable workers, public interest); and
positive outcomes of the policy.

CLAC will monitor how the new policy is working and prepare to challenge its weaknesses and praise its strengths when a review is ordered.

Government Relations Activity
CLAC has sent a letter to the government outlining our concerns and the areas we are monitoring.
Besides this matter, CLAC is also providing feedback about improving apprenticeships, implementing municipal and provincial fair wage policies, lobbying for fair and open tendering, and more. If you have questions, please contact your rep.

Ontario College of Trades Compliance and Enforcement Changes

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