Mining Association Reacts To End Of OT Exemption

Mining Association Reacts To End Of OT Exemption

Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 13:36

An industry leader in the province says northern mining operators will be hard-pressed to put together work schedules due to a recent decision by the government.

Pam Schwann, the general manager of the Saskatchewan Mining Association, disapproves of the NDP government’s recent decision to scrap the Northern Overtime Exemption.

She wishes the government would have listened to the SMA, which tried to warn the province about the work scheduling problem and other impacts.

Schwann says the exemption accomodated both workers and operators, and its elimination was not necessary.

Schwann also argues the new averaged-permit system the government has designed to replace the exemption won’t be that effective.

She says union agreements trump the permit system, effectively leaving it toothless.

However, Schwann says her group is happy that the government chose to keep the exemption for workers engaged in mining exploration.