1994 Legislative Session: 3rd Session, 35th Parliament
FIRST READING


The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.


HONOURABLE DAN MILLER
MINISTER OF SKILLS,
TRAINING AND LABOUR

BILL 37 -- 1994

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND FAIR WAGE ACT

Contents

Section  
 
Part 1 -- Interpretation and Application
1  Definitions
2  Purposes of the Act
3  Scope of the Act
 
Part 2 -- Project Requirements
4  Trade qualifications
5  Requirement to pay fair wages
6  Statutory declarations
7  Subcontractors
 
Part 3 -- Enforcement
8  Collection of fair wages
9  Records
10  Posting of schedule
11  Orders for compliance
12  Offences
 
Part 4 -- Regulations
13  Power to make regulations
 
Part 5 -- Miscellaneous
14-15  Consequential Amendments
16  Repeals
17  Commencement

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

 
Part 1 -- Interpretation and Application

Definitions

1 In this Act:

"apprentice" means a person who, to receive training, enters into an apprenticeship agreement or a registered apprenticeship agreement as defined in the Apprenticeship Act;

"certificate of apprenticeship" means a certificate of apprenticeship issued by the Provincial apprenticeship board;

"certificate of qualification" means a certificate of qualification issued by the Provincial apprenticeship board;

"construction" means the construction, renovation, repair or demolition of property and the alteration or improvement of land that is undertaken by a tendering agency using Provincial money;

"Crown" means Her Majesty in right of the Province, and includes a Crown agency;

"Crown agency" means a Crown corporation or a board, commission, association or other body, whether incorporated or unincorporated, all the members of which, or all the members of the board of management or board of directors of which,

(a) are appointed by an Act or by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, or

(b) if not appointed are, in the discharge of their duties, public officers or servants of the Crown, or, for the proper discharge of their duties are directly or indirectly responsible to the Crown;

"Crown corporation" means

(a) a corporation of which all the directors or members of the governing body are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council,

(b) a corporation that is accountable directly or through a minister to the Legislature for the conduct of its affairs, or

(c) a corporation that is designated as a Crown corporation in the regulations or is of a class designated in the regulations;

"director" means the Director of Employment Standards appointed under the Public Service Act and includes a person authorized in writing by the Director of Employment Standards for the purpose of all or any provisions of this Act;

"employee" means

(a) a person in receipt of or entitled to wages for labour or services performed for another,

(b) a person an employer allows, directly or indirectly, to perform work or service normally performed by an employee, and

(c) a person being trained by an employer for the purpose of the employer's business;

"employer" includes a person who

(a) has control or direction of, or

(b) is responsible, directly or indirectly, for the employment of an employee, and includes a person who was an employer;

"fair wages" means wages and benefits determined in accordance with the regulations;

"Provincial money" means

(a) public money as defined in the Financial Administration Act,

(b) money paid by the government to a Crown agency or public institution, or

(c) money loaned to a Crown agency or public institution if the payment of all or part of the loan is guaranteed by the government;

"public institution" means a public institution as defined in the Municipal Finance Authority Act and includes the University of Northern British Columbia and a board or council as defined in the Health Authorities Act;

"subcontractor" means a subcontractor as defined in the Builders Lien Act;

"tendering agency" means the government or a Crown agency or public institution that receives Provincial money for construction.

Purposes of the Act

2 The following are the purposes of this Act:

(a) to ensure skill development training in the construction industry;

(b) to ensure high quality work standards on publicly funded construction projects by requiring that employees hold the appropriate qualifications;

(c) to ensure employees receive fair wages for work performed on publicly funded construction projects.

Scope of the Act

3 (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act applies to all construction that is contracted for by a tendering agency.

(2) This Act does not apply to construction that

(a) is of a type designated in the regulations, or

(b) the tendering agency estimates will require the expenditure of an amount of Provincial money that is less than the amount set out in the regulations.

 
Part 2 -- Project Requirements

Trade qualifications

4 (1) Subject to subsection (2), all employees of the contractor, subcontractor or any other person doing or contracting to do the whole or any part of the construction to which this Act applies must

(a) be registered under the Apprenticeship Act,

(b) hold a British Columbia certificate of apprenticeship,

(c) hold a British Columbia certificate of qualification, or

(d) hold a certificate with an Interprovincial Red Seal, recognized by the director of apprenticeship, except for a trade designated under section 23 (1) of the Apprenticeship Act.

(2) Subsection (1) applies only to a trade where both an apprenticeship program and a British Columbia certificate of qualification are available under the Apprenticeship Act.

(3) Apprentices must perform work under supervision of the tradesperson responsible for the work being performed.

(4) The ratio of apprentices to tradespersons at a construction site must not exceed the ratio approved by the director of apprenticeship.

Requirement to pay fair wages

5 All employees of a contractor, subcontractor or any other person doing or contracting to do the whole or any part of the construction to which this Act applies must be paid fair wages in accordance with the regulations.

Statutory declarations

6 (1) A contractor, subcontractor or any other person doing or contracting to do the whole or any part of the construction to which this Act applies must provide a statutory declaration to the tendering agency

(a) recognizing their obligations to comply with this Act, and

(b) before the first progress payment is made under the contract, specifying the following for each employee:

(i) the employee's name and trade in which the employee is working, as the trade is described in the regulations;

(ii) the employee's certificate or apprenticeship number and, for apprentices, the apprenticeship level;

(iii) the wage rate and benefit paid per hour;

(iv) any other information required by the regulations.

(2) When additional or replacement employees or subcontractors commence work on a site, the contractor or subcontractor or other person who employs or contracts with them must provide additional statutory declarations containing the information referred to in subsection (1) (b)

(a) within 30 days from the day on which they commence work, or

(b) on request of the director, whichever is earlier.

Subcontractors

7 Every contract for construction to which this Act applies must include a provision that in subcontracting any part of the construction contemplated by the contract, the contractor or subcontractor must

(a) place conditions in the subcontract that will ensure compliance by the subcontractor with this Act, and

(b) be responsible for the carrying out of any conditions referred to in paragraph (a).

 
Part 3 -- Enforcement

Collection of fair wages

8 Fair wages owing under this Act are deemed to be wages for the purpose of the Employment Standards Act, and the collection, review and appeal procedures of that Act apply for the purpose of this Act.

Records

9 (1) Employers must keep the following for each employee for a period of one year after the completion of a construction project:

(a) a record of the employee's trade;

(b) a copy of the employee's certificate of apprenticeship, certificate of qualification or apprenticeship agreement, where applicable, and, for an apprentice, a record of the apprenticeship level;

(c) a record of the wages and benefits paid to the employee;

(d) a record of the benefits earned by the employee for each benefit allowed by the regulations;

(e) a record of the wages and benefits being received by the employee;

(f) any other information required by the regulations.

(2) An employer must, on every pay day, give to each employee a written statement of wages and benefits paid to the employee for the pay period and the statement must include the following information:

(a) in the case of an hourly paid employee, the hours worked by the employee;

(b) the employee's wage rate and, where the rate varies, the hours worked at each rate;

(c) the hours worked by the employee for which payment of wages is made at the overtime wage rate, and the overtime wage rate;

(d) any bonus, living allowance or other payment to which the employee is entitled;

(e) the amount of each deduction from the earnings of the employee and the purpose for each deduction;

(f) where an employee is paid other than by salary or by the hour, how the wages were calculated for the work for which payment is made.

Posting of schedule

10 The contractor must post at each job site a copy of the fair wage schedule set out in the regulations.

Orders for compliance

11 If the director is satisfied that a person has contravened section 4, 6, 9 or 10, the director may make one or more orders requiring the employer to do one or more of the following:

(a) comply with the section;

(b) remedy or cease doing an act.

Offences

12 (1) A person who contravenes this Act or neglects or refuses to comply with an order under section 11 commits an offence.

(2) A person who refuses or neglects to furnish statements or information or to keep or produce records required under this Act or who intentionally obstructs a person acting under this Act or the regulations commits an offence.

(3) If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, whether or not the corporation is prosecuted for the offence, an officer, director, employee or agent of the corporation who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence commits an offence.

(4) A person who commits an offence under this Act is liable to a fine not exceeding $10 000.

(5) Section 5 of the Offence Act does not apply to this Act or the regulations.

 
Part 4 -- Regulations

Power to make regulations

13 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as authorized by section 41 of the Interpretation Act.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) designating corporations or classes of corporations as Crown corporations for the purpose of the definition of "Crown corporation",

(b) establishing fair wage rates and governing the method of calculating those rates for the purpose of the definition of "fair wage",

(c) governing the procedure to be followed in the execution of contracts with tendering agencies and prescribing standard provisions that must be included in those contracts,

(d) governing records that must be kept for the purpose of this Act and authorizing the director to inspect and make copies of those records,

(e) governing the enforcement of this Act and the regulations, and

(f) governing exemptions to all or any provisions of this Act or the regulations.

(3) A regulation under subsection (1) or (2) may provide differently for different types of construction or projects, for employees with different qualifications or for different regions of British Columbia.

 
Part 5 -- Miscellaneous

 
Consequential Amendments

 
Drainage, Ditch and Dike Act

14 Section 39 of the Drainage, Ditch and Dike Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 98, is amended by renumbering the section as section 39 (1) and by adding the following subsection:

(2) The determination of the lowest bidder under subsection (1) is subject to the Skills Development and Fair Wage Act.

 
Ministry of Transportation and Highways Act

15 Section 49 of the Ministry of Transportation and Highways Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 280, is amended by adding the following subsection:

(3.1) Subsection (3) does not apply to a case where the minister does not let the work to the lowest bidder because the lowest bidder fails to comply with the Skills Development and Fair Wage Act.

Repeals

16 (1) The Wage (Public Construction) Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 426, is repealed.

(2) The following provisions are repealed:

(a) section 46 of the Hospital Act;

(b) section 939 of the Municipal Act;

(c) section 174 of the Vancouver Charter.

Commencement

17 This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

 
Explanatory Notes

This Bill replaces the existing Fair Wage and Skills Development Policy of the government. It follows closely the provisions and intent of the Fair Wage and Skills Development Policy, but provides for additional enforcement mechanisms.

The main differences between the Act and the policy are that the Act:


[ Return to: Legislative Assembly Home Page ]

Copyright © 2002: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada