February 3, 2011

Ontario employment rights now have a multilingual phone line

TORONTO

Ontario is providing more resources, including a multilingual toll-free number, to send a critical message to employees and employers: Know your employment rights and responsibilities.

Ontario’s workforce is becoming increasingly diverse, as many employees and employers speak non-official languages at work. In 2006 nearly 315,000 workers in Ontario used a language other than English and French on the job, according to Statistics Canada.

On Jan.17, Ontario expanded its Employment Standards Information Centre (1-800-531-5551) to provide service in 23 languages, from Arabic to Vietnamese. The call centre allows Ontarians to ask experienced staff about employment standards, filing a claim and where to find more information.

The ministry has reached out to employers and workers by creating posters in 23 languages and placed information in more than 50 ethnic news publications in Ontario.

These materials are designed to help Ontarians understand their employment rights and responsibilities, directing them to the ministry’s multilingual resource portal at ontario.ca/employmentrights. The portal provides information in 23 languages on such issues as employment rights, filing a claim and how employees are protected.

The ministry has also produced two videos on complying with the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and how to file a claim.

Both videos are available in multiple languages on the ministry website and on YouTube.

The new resources continue the ministry’s efforts to modernize Ontario’s employment standards, including improvements that lead to faster resolution of claims that were implemented on Jan. 19, 2011.

DCN News Services

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