A Brief History of Labour Day and Safety & Workers Rights in Canada and the USA
Labour Day in Canada and the United States
Labour Day in Canada (or Labor Day in the US) has been recognized every first Monday of September since the 1880s. In the second half of the 19th century, Canada and the US were changing rapidly with the increase of immigration, cities growing in numbers, and the industrial revolution drastically altering their economies and workforces.
During this time work environments had deplorable conditions, low wages, and long workdays with a 6-day workweek. Trade unions were still illegal under British law and machines began to replace and automate many worker processes, while employees found they can no longer offer special skills to offer employers; employee striking was also viewed as criminality to disrupt trade.
Around the same time, the Toronto Printers Union has been lobbying for a shorter workweek, which was inspired by workers in Ontario, Hamilton that that started a moment for a nine-hour work week. The members of the Toronto Printer Union were imprisoned for striking to campaign for a nine-hour working day. Despite the imprisonment and illegal unions, the Toronto Trade Assembly encouraged workers to form trade unions and over time public support grew and authorities could no longer deny the important role that unions played for worker rights and for safety.
One of the theories of the origins of the US Labor Day is that it began on September 5, 1882 with a public parade of the Central Labor Union which was made up of different New York labor organizations. Another theory is that the idea of Labor Day came from Peter J. McGuire, vice president of the American Federation of Labor, who was inspired after a trip to Toronto where he saw parades celebrating labour contributions and rights.
North of the border, a year later in 1883, Canada’s first Prime Minister Sir John Macdonald passed a bill to repeal all Canadian laws against trade unions. Labour Day in Canada was originally celebrated in the spring, but it was moved to the fall after 1894 after Prime Minister Sir John Thompson declared Labour Day a national holiday and celebrates workers' rights during parades and picnics organized by trade unions.
FUN FACT: Did you know that prior to Labour Day, North America's standard workday in the 1840s was 10 to 12-hours and a 6-day work week?
Read more of the History of Workplace Safety in our previous blog post.
An important history of worker safety and workplace health and safety in Canada
Labour Day in the United States is held on the same day, and Canadian trade unions are proud that this holiday was inspired to celebrate and improve workers' rights and safety and overall workplace health and safety as well as labour standards for all industries.
Canada has a Minister of Labour who “promotes safe, healthy, fair and inclusive work conditions and cooperative workplace relationships” within the federal private sector (banking, telecommunications, and air, rail and maritime transportation), First Nations band councils, and Indigenous self-government, and most Crown corporations. (Yes, this includes public holidays.)
A lot has happened since the 1800s. Here are some of the important recent events in the history of safety in Canada:
1918: Minimum wage legislation introduced
In 1918, British Columbia and Manitoba introduced minimum wage legislation with Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan following suit in 1920. Since that time, Ontario increased its minimum wage from $11.60 to $14.00 per hour on January 1, 2018, Alberta increased from $11.60 to $15.00 per hour on October 1, 2018, and, in British Columbia, the minimum wage increased to $15.20 on June 1, 2021.
1964: The Industrial Safety Act
In 1964 "safety" is defined as "freedom from injury to the body or freedom from damage to health." The Industrial Safety Act is introduced and replaces Factory, Shop, and Office Building Act which requires employers to take such precautions to ensure worker safety. In 1971 the Act was revisited and responsibility for safety is given to the supervisor and the worker.
1978: Occupational Health and Safety Act (Bill 70)
Existing occupational health and safety legislation, the Construction Safety Act, the Mining Act, the Employees Health and Safety Act, and the Industrial Safety Act are all combined into one statute to be developed as the Occupational Health and Safety Act.7. The act provides guidance for health and safety committees, workplace health and safety, refusal to work, and the regulation of toxic substances.
1995: Employment Equity Act
According to its federally regulated safety legislation, the purpose of the Employment Equity Act is to:
“Achieve equality in the workplace so that no person shall be denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons unrelated to ability and, in the fulfillment of that goal, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by women, aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities by giving effect to the principle that employment equity means more than treating persons in the same way but also requires special measures and the accommodation of differences.”
1996: Employment Standards Act
In 1996, the Ontario government passed the Ontario Employment Standards Act which is administered by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development and helps establish the minimum safety standards that employers must provide, protecting workers in the areas of severance pay, pregnancy, and parental leave, minimum wage, vacation, hours of work limits and termination of employment.
That same year, BC also passed the BC Employment Standards Act with mandatory minimum standards and with the goals:
to ensure that employees in British Columbia receive at least basic standards of compensation and conditions of employment;
to promote the fair treatment of employees and employers;
to encourage open communication between employers and employees;
to provide fair and efficient procedures for resolving disputes over the application and interpretation of this Act;
to foster the development of a productive and efficient labor force that can contribute fully to the prosperity of British Columbia; and
to contribute in assisting employees to meet work and family responsibilities.
This act is also managed by the BC Ministry of Labour which “promotes fair, healthy and safe labor and employment relationships in support of a strong, sustainable and inclusive economy.”
1998: Workers’ Compensation Reform Act (Bill 99)
On January 1st, 1998, the Workers' Compensation Act was renamed to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) with new responsibility for occupational injury and illness prevention and the promotion of occupational health and safety.
2004: Code of Liabilities for Corporations (Bill C-45) *Now Commonly referred to as the Westray Law,
The bill became law on March 31st, 2004 that amended the Canadian Criminal Code that imposes criminal liability for occupational health and safety violations resulting in injury or death. The bill allows for criminal prosecution of organizations, including corporations, their representatives, and those who have authority to direct the work of others.
Read more on our work alone regulations in Canada
2004: Working alone regulations
Many provinces in Canada have safety regulations for Working Alone or in Isolation. Failure to comply with Work Alone Regulations could result in increased Workers’ Compensation Board premiums, fines, legal action, or even criminal charges for either an organization or an individual liable. To learn more about work-alone regulations in Canada visit our Regulations page.
2009: Workplace violence (Bill 168)
Ontario passes Bill 168 on April 2009 a legislation amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act to include provisions for the prevention of workplace violence and harassment. Under Bill 168, employers must devise workplace violence and harassment policies, develop programs to implement such policies, and engage in assessments to measure the risk of workplace violence.
2010: Confined spaces
The Canadian Standards Association relapses the national labour standards on managing work in confined spaces. CSA Z1006 is a voluntary standard that defines best practices for confined space work and was developed with input from industry sectors such as energy and mining. The goal is to make sure employees work in safe spaces with immediate help available if needed.
An important history of worker safety workplace health and safety in the United States
1908: Federal Employers Liability Act
The first major event in US worker safety was a law passed at the beginning of the century to protect railroad workers. Because of this unprecedented law, worker fatalities that previously cost railroad companies $200 were now costing $2,000.
1910: Bureau of Mines
The science-based Bureau of Mines was established by Congress to research the increasing number of disastrous explosions in mines around the country. It was a small step, but an important one that got the worker safety ball rolling.
1911: Wisconsin Workers’ Compensation Act
Wisconsin was the first state to pass a workers’ compensation law that pioneered worker safety in the US, providing a compensation framework that would influence other states in the decades to follow. The law also promoted labor rights to those not only in hazardous jobs, demonstrating that worker safety is a universal right.
1913: The National Safety Council
The National Safety Council (NSC) was founded a couple of years later to centralize worker safety information and data, working with the Bureau of Mines as well as the National Bureau of Standards for scientific information. To this day, the NSC is the leading and one of the most trusted safety advocates in the country, helping maintain high labor standards in the country.
1964: Civil Rights Act and human rights
In 1964, Congress passed Public Law 88-352 (78 Stat. 241) or the Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination against race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This act forbids employers to demonstrate discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as, race in hiring, promoting and firing.
Human rights in the United States are protected by the Constitution of the United States (the Bill of Rights), state constitutions, legislation passed by Congress and state legislatures, state referenda and citizen's initiatives, as well as treaty and customary international law.
1970: The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act
In response to increasing work-related injuries and deaths, President Nixon signed the OHS Act which established higher labor standards for workplace safety by assuring “safe and healthful working conditions; by providing for research, information, education, and training in the field of occupational safety and health; and for other purposes.” (Before the OHS Act, the US did not have any national laws that addressed safety and health hazards in the workplace.)
1970: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
With the new act, Congress also created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which, more than 50 years later, continues to “ensure safe and healthful working conditions for workers by setting and enforcing high labor standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance.”
1990: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The first of its kind in the world, the ADA was a major civil rights act that prohibits the discrimination of people with disabilities in the workplace. This pioneering act was revolutionary as it helped millions of people perform their jobs better and safer.
2018 and Beyond: New US laws require employers to provide panic buttons
Due to the unique nature of work that many hotel staff performs, workers may find themselves either working alone or working in the presence of unknown guests. This environment puts hotel staff at significant risk of harassment, violence, sexual assault, and other crimes. Chicago was the first city to place an ordinance on July 1st, 2018 to protect hotel staff from threatening behavior. Panic button laws are rapidly spreading across the US, requiring employers to provide the dives in places such as California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, New York, Florida, and Washington DC. Read more here on protecting hotel workers with panic buttons.
Sources:
https://eh.net/encyclopedia/history-of-workplace-safety-in-the-united-states-1880-1970/
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/labour-day
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/labour-day
https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/politics-law/the-first-labour-day
https://www.timesizing.com/history-of-the-american-workweek/
https://studylib.net/doc/8296099/history-of-occupational-health-and-safety-legislation-in-on...
https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-37/session-3/bill-70
https://studylib.net/doc/8296099/history-of-occupational-health-and-safety-legislation-in-on...