Résumés
Abstract
For many workers in Ontario, the Employment Standards Act (ESA) provides the only formal measures of workplace protection. The complaints-based monitoring system utilized by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, however, makes it difficult to assess the overall prevalence of employment standards (ES) compliance in the labour force. In addition to outright ESA violations, prevailing research highlights the significance of the erosion, evasion, and outright abandonment of ES for workers’ access to protection through practices such as the misclassification of workers and types of work. In this article, we report on efforts to develop a telephone-survey questionnaire that measures the overall prevalence of ES violations, as well as evasion and erosion in low-wage jobs in Ontario, without requiring respondents to have any pre-existing legal knowledge. Key methodological challenges included developing strategies for identifying ‘misclassified’ independent contractors, establishing measures for determining whether workers were exempt from the ESA, and translating the regulatory nuances embedded in the legislation into easy-to-answer questions. The result is a survey questionnaire unique in the Canadian context. Our questionnaire reflects the concerns of both academic researchers and workers’ rights activists. Pilot survey results show that Ontario workers do not necessarily distinguish between ES violations and other workplace grievances and complaints. With careful questionnaire design, it is nevertheless possible to measure the prevalence of ES violations, evasion and erosion. In order to track the effects of ES policies, particularly those on enforcement, we conclude by calling for the establishment of baseline measures and standardized reporting tools.
Keywords:
- employment standards,
- enforcement,
- violations,
- telephone survey,
- survey methodology,
- Ontario
Résumé
Pour plusieurs travailleurs ontariens, la Loi sur les normes du travail ( LNT, en anglais la Employment Standards Act ), constitue leur seule mesure de protection. Par ailleurs, le système de contrôle des plaintes utilisé par le Ministère du travail de l’Ontario rend difficile toute évaluation de la prévalence de ces normes dans le marché de l’emploi. En plus de souligner les évidentes violations des dispositions de la LNT, des recherches antérieures ont mis en évidence l’importance de l’érosion des normes du travail, voire même leur contournement et leur abandon par certains employeurs, cela grâce à des pratiques telles que la sous-classification des travailleurs ou encore la sous-estimation du travail accompli. Dans cet article, nous présentons les efforts investis dans le développement d’un questionnaire téléphonique permettant de mesurer la prévalence globale des infractions, ainsi que les moyens de contournement et d’érosion des normes du travail dans les emplois à faible salaire en Ontario, et ce, sans que les répondants n’aient besoin, au préalable, de connaissances juridiques. Certains défis furent relevés au niveau de la méthodologie : notamment, la nécessité de développer des stratégies permettant l’identification d’erreurs de classification des entrepreneurs indépendants; le développement d’indicateurs afin de déterminer si les travailleurs étaient exemptés de la LNT; et afin, également, de traduire les nuances des règlements propres à la législation de la LNT dans un format de questions plus facile à répondre. Le résultat donne un questionnaire sondage unique dans le contexte canadien. Ce dernier reflète les préoccupations des chercheurs universitaires et les droits des travailleurs activistes. En général, les résultats du projet pilote démontrent que les travailleurs ontariens ne distinguent pas nécessairement les violations au NT des autres formes de griefs et de plaintes en milieu de travail. Toutefois, par le biais d’une élaboration plus poussée de ce questionnaire, il serait possible de mieux mesurer la prévalence des violations aux normes du travail, ainsi que leurs contournements et leur érosion. Nous concluons en insistant sur l’importance d’établir des mesures de base et des outils de mesures de données standardisés qui permettront de mieux surveiller les effets des politiques de la LNT.
Mots-clés :
- normes du travail,
- mise en application,
- violations,
- sondage téléphonique,
- méthodologie,
- Ontario
Resumen
Para muchos trabajadores del Ontario, la Ley de normas de empleo (LNE) constituye la única medida formal de protección del lugar de trabajo. Sin embargo, el sistema de monitoreo de reclamos utilizado por el Ministerio del trabajo de Ontario hace difícil de evaluar la prevalencia del respeto de las normas de empleo (NE) en la fuerza de trabajo. Además de las infracciones mayores a la LNE, la investigación preponderante resalta el impacto de la erosión, evasión y abandono completo de las NE para el acceso de los trabajadores a la protección a través de prácticas como la clasificación errónea de trabajadores y de los tipos de trabajo. En este artículo, se presentan los esfuerzos desplegados para desarrollar un cuestionario de sondeo telefónico que permitirá medir la prevalencia general de las infracciones a las NE, así como las evasiones y erosiones en los empleos a bajo salario en Ontario, sin necesidad de conocimiento legal previo de parte de los participantes. Los desafíos metodológicos claves incluyeron el desarrollo de estrategias para identificar los contratistas independientes mal clasificados, establecer medidas para determinar si los trabajadores estaban exceptuados de la LNE, y traducir las sutilidades de regulación de la legislación en preguntas fáciles a responder. El resultado es un cuestionario de encuesta único en el contexto canadiense. Nuestro cuestionario refleja las preocupaciones de los investigadores académicos y de los activistas de los derechos laborales. Los resultados del sondeo preliminar muestran que los trabajadores del Ontario no distinguen necesariamente las infracciones a las NE de las otras quejas y reclamaciones laborales. Sin embargo, con el diseño cuidadoso del cuestionario, se hace posible medir la prevalencia de infracciones, evasiones y erosiones a las NE. Con el fin de realizar un seguimiento de los efectos de la políticas de NE, particularmente aquellas relativas a su aplicación, se hace un llamado por el establecimiento de medidas de referencia y de útiles estandarizados de elaboración de informes.
Palabras clave:
- normas de empleo,
- aplicación,
- infracciones,
- sondeo telefónico,
- metodología de encuesta,
- Ontario
Parties annexes
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