.png){kind=small}
as enacted by SM 1987-88, c. 9 on July 17, 1987.
Search this document and show paragraphs with hits
You can use wild cards:
'*' allows for 0 or more characters (eg. ceas* will match 'cease', 'ceased', 'ceasing' and 'ceases')
'?' allows for 0 or 1 character (eg. cease? will match 'cease', 'ceases' and 'ceased', but not 'ceasing')
This search is not case sensitive.
R.S.M. 1987, c. C190
The Construction Industry Wages Act
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:
In this Act
"board" means a board established under this Act; ("commission")
"Crown agency" means any board, commission, or corporation created by an Act of the Legislature, the members of which, or the members of the board of directors of which, are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council; ("organisme gouvernemental")
"employee" includes a person who personally does labour notwithstanding that he, either alone or jointly with others, employs other persons; ("employé")
"employees' representative" means a person appointed as a member of a board who, in the opinion of the minister, represents the employees in respect of whom the board may or is required to make recommendations; ("représentant des employés")
"employer" means a person who, either solely or jointly, is responsible directly or indirectly for the wages of an employee, and includes the agent, manager, and representative, of any such person; ("employeur")
"employers' representative" means a person appointed as a member of a board who, in the opinion of the minister, represents the employers employing persons in respect of whom the board may or is required to make recommendations; (" représentant des employeurs")
"Greater Winnipeg" means the area within a 30 mile radius of the point of intersection in The City of Winnipeg of Osborne Street and Broadway; ("conurbation de Winnipeg" )
"heavy construction employees" means
(a) employees employed in the construction industry as operators of heavy construction equipment, and
(b) employees employed in the construction industry to do work that is necessarily incidental to work done by heavy construction equipment and who are not within the building construction trades: ("employés de l'industrie de la construction lourde")
"major building construction project" means a project in the construction industry that comes within the definition of that expression as set out in the regulations; ("ouvrage important")
"member" means a member of a board and includes the chairman of a board; ("membre")
"minister" means the Minister of Labour or such other member of the Executive Council as may be designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council as the minister charged with the administration of this Act: ("ministre")
"public representative" means a person appointed as a member of a board who. in the opinion of the minister, is impartial respecting the interests of the employees in respect of whom the board may or is required to make recommendations and the interests of the employers of such employees: ("représentant du public")
"wage" means any compensation measured by time, piece, or otherwise, whether fixed by a collective agreement or by an individual agreement. ("salaire")
Where a person who, either alone or jointly with others, employs others, personally does labour himself, he shall be deemed, in so far as he does labour himself, to be an employee and, in so far as he employs others, to be an employer.
This Act does not apply to
(a) persons employed in the business of mining;
(b) persons employed in the prefabrication industry in prefabricating a structure, or a part thereof, elsewhere than on the site on which the completed structure is intended to be situated; or
(c) persons employed by, and under the direction and control of, the owner, tenant, or occupant, of premises as regular maintenance staff to do maintenance and repair work on the premises; or
(d) persons employed in the construction of farm buildings.
Establishment of The Greater Winnipeg Building Construction Wages Board.
There is established a board to be known as: "The Greater Winnipeg Building Construction Wages Board", consisting of
(a) two employees' representatives;
(b) two employers' representatives; and
(c) one public representative, who shall be chairman of the board.
Duties of Greater Winnipeg Building Construction Wages Board.
The Greater Winnipeg Building Construction Wages Board shall, from time to time, but not less frequently than once in each year, make a report to the minister recommending in respect of employees other than heavy construction employees, and who are employed in the construction industry in Greater Winnipeg, and on major building construction projects.
(a) the minimum rates of wages that they should receive for regular working hours and for overtime working hours;
(b) the maximum number of regular working hours that they should be required to work in any day, week, or month; and
(c) any other matters relating to such wages or hours of work that the board thinks advisable, or in respect of which the minister has requested it to make a recommendation.
Establishment of Rural Building Construction Wages Board.
There is established a board to be known as: "The Rural Building Construction Wages Board", consisting of
(a) two employees' representatives;
(b) two employers' representatives; and
(c) one public representative, who shall be chairman of the board.
Duties of Rural Building Construction Wages Board.
The Rural Building Construction Wages Board shall, from time to time, but not less frequently than once in each year, make a report to the minister recommending in respect of employees other than heavy construction employees, and who are employed in the construction industry outside Greater Winnipeg, and not on major building construction projects,
(a) the minimum rates of wages that they should receive for regular working hours and for overtime working hours;
(b) the maximum number of regular working hours that they should be required to work in any day, week, or month; and
(c) any other matters relating to such wages or hours of work that the board thinks advisable, or in respect of which the minister has requested it to make a recommendation.
Establishment of The Heavy Construction Wages Board.
There is established a board to be known as: "The Heavy Construction Wages Board", consisting of
(a) two employees' representatives;
(b) two employers' representatives; and
(c) one public representative, who shall be chairman of the board.
Duties of The Heavy Construction Wages Board.
The Heavy Construction Wages Board shall, from time to time, but not less frequently than once in each year, make a report to the minister recommending in respect of heavy construction employees
(a) the minimum rates of wages that they should receive for regular working hours and for overtime working hours;
(b) the maximum number of regular working hours that they should be required to work in any day, week, or month; and
(c) any other matters relating to such wages or hours of work that the board thinks advisable, or in respect of which the minister has requested it to make, a recommendation.
Appointment of members of boards.
Each member of a board shall be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council for such term as may be prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and thereafter until his successor is appointed.
A person shall not be appointed as an employees' representative on a board unless he is, or has been, such an employee.
A person shall not be appointed as an employers' representative on a board unless he is, or has been, such an employer.
A majority of the members of a board constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.
A board shall govern its own procedure, and may make rules relating to its procedure.
A member of a board shall be paid such compensation for his services as may be determined by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and may be paid such out-of-pocket expenses as he may incur in the performance of his duties as a member of the board and are approved by the Minister of Finance.
Before performing any duties as a member, a member shall take and subscribe an oath that he will faithfully exercise and discharge the powers and duties of his office without fear of or favour to any person, and every such oath shall be filed in the office of the minister.
Such officers and employees as may be required for the purposes of this Act may be appointed as provided in The Civil Service Act.
For the purposes of performing their duties under this Act, the members of a board have all the powers of commissioners appointed under Part V of The Manitoba Evidence Act.
Before making a report to the minister, a board shall hold public hearings at such times and places as it deems advisable for the purpose of conducting inquiries and investigations into matters in respect of which it may or is required to make recommendations.
A board shall give notice of each hearing by advertising in not less than two issues, published not closer than one week apart, and at least one week before the date of the hearing, of a newspaper having general circulation in the area in which the hearing is held.
Facts to be considered by boards.
In preparing a report containing recommendations respecting wages or hours of work, a board shall consider
(a) prevailing wages in the construction industry or any part of the industry to which the recommendations relate;
(b) prevailing practices relating to hours of work followed in the construction industry or any part of the industry to which the recommendations relate;
(c) collective agreements made between employers and employees in the construction industry or any part of the industry to which the recommendations relate; and
(d) such other factors as the minister requires it to consider or the board thinks relevant to the recommendations.
In making a report under this Act, a board may make different recommendations in respect of
(a) different classes of employees;
(b) different areas; and
(c) different major building construction projects.
The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) prescribing minimum rates of wages to be paid to employees in the construction industry for regular working hours and for overtime working hours;
(b) prescribing the maximum number of regular working hours that employees in the construction industry may be required to work in any day, week, or month, before being paid at overtime rates of wages.
Regulations made under subsection (1) may be made to apply to part of the province only and may prescribe different standards of wages and hours in respect of
(a) different classes of employees;
(b) different areas; and
(c) different major building construction
Regulations have force of law.
Regulations made under subsection (1) have the force of law.
Effect of Employment Standards Act.
The regulations made under this section shall not apply in any case to have the effect of reducing the wages any employee is entitled to receive to an amount less than he would be entitled to receive under The Employment Standards Act or the regulations made thereunder.
Time in which employees' wages required to be paid.
Unless the minister otherwise permits, the employer of an employee in the construction industry shall pay to the employee the whole of the wages to which he is entitled under this Act, or the regulations, within five days after the end of the pay period for which the wages are payable.
Every contract or arrangement made by an employer or an employee or between an employer and an employee that seeks or purports to circumvent or defeat the purpose of this Act or the regulations is void, and nothing therein affects the right of the employee to recover wages at the rates prescribed in the regulations.
Acceptance of low wages not defence of action.
The acceptance by an employee of wages at a rate lower than the minimum rate to which he is entitled under this Act or the regulations shall not be a defence
(a) to an action by the employee to recover wages at the rates prescribed in the regulations; or
(b) to a prosecution under this Act or the regulations for failing to comply with this Act or the regulations.
Nothing in this Act or the regulations curtails, abridges, or defeats any civil or other remedy for the recovery of wages by an employee from his employer.
Application of Payment of Wages Act.
The Payment of Wages Act applies to the recovery of wages by an employee in the building construction industry or the road and drainage construction industry.
Claim for wages under government contracts.
Where
(a) an employer doing work in performance of a contract with the government or a Crown agency; or
(b) an employer doing work in performance of a sub-contract under a contract between another person and the government or a Crown agency;
makes default in paying wages to an employee employed in the construction industry to do work under the contract or sub-contract, as the case may be, the employee may file a written claim for the wages with the minister not later than thirty days after the date upon which the wages first become due.
Where the minister receives a claim made under subsection (1), if he is satisfied as to the amount of the claim and that the employer is liable to pay the wages, he shall order, in writing, that the amount of the claim be paid to the employee; and
(a) where the employer is under contract with the government or the Crown agency, shall send the order or a signed copy thereof to the minister of the Crown having charge of the contract or to the chief officer of the Crown agency, as the case may be; and
(b) where the employee is under a sub-contract under a contract between another person and the government or the Crown agency, shall send the order or a signed copy thereof to that other person.
Where a minister of the Crown or the chief officer of a Crown agency receives an order for the payment of wages or a copy thereof made under subsection (2), he shall pay or cause to be paid the amount of the claim to the employee from and out of, and to the extent of,
(a) any moneys payable to the employer under the contract; or
(b) any security held for payment of such claims against the employer;
and he shall deduct, or cause to be deducted, from any moneys so payable under the contract the amount paid on the claim.
Payment of claim by contractor.
Where a person having a contract with the government or the Crown agency receives an order, or a copy thereof, made under subsection (2), he shall pay, or cause to be paid, the amount of the claim to the employee from and out of, and to the extent of,
(a) any moneys payable to the employer under the sub-contract; or
(b) any security held for payment of such claims against the employer;
and he shall deduct, or cause to be deducted, from any moneys so payable under the contract the amount paid on the claim.
Exemption for special employees.
Upon application being made therefor by an employer, the minister or any officer of The Department of Labour authorized by the minister for the purpose may in writing exempt the employer from paying wages at rates required by the Act or the regulations to an employee who, because of mental or physical disability, is unable
(a) to perform all work usually performed by employees in the class of employees within which he falls; or
(b) to perform such work with as much skill as those other employees.
An exemption granted under subsection (1) shall name the employee in respect of whom the exemption is granted, and may be granted for a limited period and subject to such terms and conditions as the minister or the officer may prescribe.
Wages to be paid to exempted employee.
In granting an exemption under subsection (1) the minister or the officer shall prescribe the rate of wages to be paid to the employee named therein, and that rate may be described as a percentage of the rate that would otherwise have to be paid to the employee under this Act or the regulations; and thereupon the rate of wages so prescribed may be enforced under this Act as though it were prescribed under the regulations.
An employer who fails or neglects to comply with any provision of the Act or the regulations is guilty of an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, for every day during which the offence continues, where the employer is an individual, to a fine not exceeding $100. or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both, and where the employer is a corporation to a fine not exceeding $1,000.
Notwithstanding any other Act of the Legislature, proceedings in respect of a prosecution for an alleged offence under this Act or the regulations may be instituted
(a) where the alleged offence is failure to pay wages at rates required to be paid under this Act or the regulations, any time within one year after the date on which the wages first become payable; and
(b) for other alleged offences, any time within one year after the time when the subject matter of the prosecution arose.
Each day during which a person fails to comply with any provision of this Act or the regulations constitutes a separate and distinct offence.
Where an employer is convicted of an offence under this Act or the regulations relating to the failure to pay to an employee wages at rates required to be paid to the employee under this Act or the regulations, the magistrate shall find the amount due by the employer to the employee after crediting any amount actually paid to the employee by the employer on account of wages; and he shall, in addition to any fine or other penalty which he imposes, order the employer to pay to the employee the amount so found to be due together with such costs as he may allow the employee.
Application of Payment of Wages Act.
An order for payment of wages under subsection (1) shall be deemed to be an order for the payment of wages made under The Payment of Wages Act; and the provisions of that Act relating to the enforcement of such order apply thereto, mutatis mutandis.
No order for the payment of wages due and payable more than one year before the date of the information shall be made under subsection (1).
Application of sec. 11 of The Employment Standards Act.
Section 11 of The Employment Standards Act applies to any notice, order, requisition, summons, or other paper or document, required or authorized to be served or sent for the purposes of this Act.
For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act according to their intent, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make such regulations and orders as are ancillary thereto and are not inconsistent therewith; and every regulation or order made under, and in accordance with the authority granted by, this section has the force of law; and without restricting the generality of the foregoing, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations and orders, defining for the purposes of this Act the type, class, or size of projects in the construction industry that are major building construction projects.
All costs incurred in the administration of this Act shall be paid from the Consolidated Fund with moneys appropriated by an Act of the Legislature to be so paid and applied.