Of course we have unions !
The minimum wage is the same for everyone.
We dont talk about minimum union wage ( Now , i know I am going to fumble with my english
)
A job enters in a cathegory ( skilled , unskilled , professional , office clerk etc) and within these cathegories , you have a scale and move on that scale according to some factors ( performance etc) I am familliar more with with collar jobs that with blue collar ones since I work for a governement publishing company.
Right now , we do have a lot of stikes from teachers union, and daycare unions workers , and all the Quebec governement workers are in negociation for a new work countract.
Our labour laws are directed to the non-union workers , to try to protect those who work in less "skilled" type of work ( to make sure they get a "decent" salary , have decent vacations , and decent work conditions ( ïe: hours worked , pauses etc are all in the law) We you are union , you get usually better that what the law considers the minimum ( we get 3 weeks paid vacations , overtime pay after 7 hours worked , 1 paid year maternity leave ( paid as unenployement by the governement , this everybody gets, not just union) )with possibility of taking a second one without pay...etc etc etc.
Skip this next little section if you are not interested of how the minimum wage works in another country !
Just to continue about our minimum wage :FRom the Quebec governement website:
The minimum wage is set by the Government of Québec. However, it is the Commission des normes du travail which supervises the application thereof and which receives complaints concerning the minimum wage.
No benefit having pecuniary value (automobile, accommodations, etc. supplied by the employer) may result in the employee receiving less than the minimum wage.
Date / General rate /Employees receiving tips rate/Employees in the clothing i
$7,60 $6,85 $8,10
Who is entitled to the minimum wage?
Employees who are subject to the Act respecting Labour Standards are entitled to the minimum wage set by the Québec government.
Some employees subject to the Act respecting Labour Standards are nonetheless excluded from the application of the minimum wage. They are:
1º a student employed in a social or community non-profit organization such as a vacation camp or a recreational organization;
2º a trainee under a program of vocational training recognized by law;
3º a trainee under a program of vocational integration provided for under section 61 of the Act to secure the handicapped in the exercise of their rights;
4º an employee entirely on commission who works in a commercial undertaking outside the establishment and whose working hours cannot be controlled;
5º an employee assigned mainly to non-mechanized operations relating to the picking of processing vegetables.
Part-time workers and wages
No employer may remunerate an employee at a lower rate of wage than that granted to other employees performing the same tasks in the same establishment for the sole reason that the employee usually works less hours each week.
Employees earning twice the minimum wage are however excluded from this provision.
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Differences in treatment
No employer may grant an employee subject to the Act respecting Labour Standards conditions of employment that are less advantageous than those granted to other employees who perform the same tasks in the same establishment for the sole reason of his date of hiring. These conditions of employment concern in particular:
1º wages;
2º the duration of work;
3º paid statutory holidays;
4º annual leaves;
5º rest periods;
6º absences and leaves for family or parental matters;
7º notice of termination of employment.
