Everybody has a story about their worst job but now, instead of being voiceless, wronged workers can speak out and foster change in the workplace.
That's the goal of the BC Employment Standards Coalition, a group of organizations seeking an updating of the province's employment regulations, which is meeting with people to collect their bad job stories.
On Feb. 27, the coalition will be in Coquitlam at Douglas College's David Lam Campus (Room D1024) from noon to 7 p.m. to hear about issues such as unpaid wages, unpaid overtime, unfair firings and mishandling of restaurant tips.
Co-chair David Fairey said the interviews will be private and confidential, and participants can choose to be anonymous.
"What we're going to do is gather these stories and compile the issues people are experiencing and publishing a report," Fairey said, adding that the goal is to have the report completed before the next provincial election.
He said the BC Employment Standards Act hasn't been substantially reviewed since the BC Liberals first came to power — and then, some regulations were changed that made it difficult for workers to get their issues resolved.
One of the problems, he said, is that they have to make an official presentation to their employer first, which some people might not be comfortable doing, when inspections and enforcement are what's needed.
"There has been a deleterious effect," Fairey said. "It discourage workers from complaining about possible infractions of the act."
The act was last updated in 2002/’03 and jobs have changed substantially since then, with more part-time and contract work, he said, adding that employment standards need to keep pace with changes in the job market.
Douglas College is located at 1250 Pinetree Way.
More information is available at bcemploymentstandardscoalition.com.
