The Law of Work
  • Home
  • About
  • Professor David Doorey
  • Osgoode Hall LLM
  • Books
  • Guest Contributors
  • Useful Links
    • Archive
  • Home
  • About
  • Professor David Doorey
  • Osgoode Hall LLM
  • Books
  • Guest Contributors
  • Useful Links
    • Archive
The Law of Work
Law of Work Archive

Plant Closing, Bankruptcies, and Workers' Claims

by David Doorey July 8, 2008
written by David Doorey July 8, 2008

There is a story in the Star today about another plant closing, this one at Progressive Moulded Products in Vaughan. The workers have set up a picket line and are blocking entry into the plant. Interestingly, these workers are non-union, and since this is an auto-parts company, I assume that the Canadian Auto Workers has tried and failed to organize the workers in the past (this is a guess on my part). However, the CAW is now providing assistance and advice to the workers. The Court has already made an order for the blockade to be removed–remember our earlier discussion involving GM, where we explained that picketers can protest, but in doing so, cannot physically obstruct entry into a premises. The workers appear to be defying the order, which could cause the police to start arresting people.
Besides being angry about losing their jobs, the workers are really pissed about the fact that they will probably lose their notice and severance pay entitlements under the Employment Standards Act. That is because the employer has filed for bankruptcy, and employees’ entitlements rank relatively low down the pecking order of creditors in our bankruptcy system. In most cases, there is little left for the workers once the secured creditors and higher ranking preferred creditors are paid out. A good summary of the rankings system and of the policy issues relating to where workers’ entitlements should fit into it is available in this report.
Unpaid wages have some protection. The Federal government introduced the Wage Earner Protection Program in 2007, a scheme which protects workers’ wages in the case of the bankruptcy of their employer, but only up to 4 weeks’ of maximum insurable earnings under the Employment Insurance Act, which is about $3000, and not including unpaid benefits such as severance or notice pay.
Unions have been lobbying for years for workers’ wages and other entitlements (liek vacation pay, severance pay) to placed at or near the top of the creditor pecking order. For example, see this submission by the USWA-Canada.
Where do you think workers entitlements should rank among creditors?

4 comments
0
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
David Doorey

Professor Doorey is an Associate Professor of Work Law and Industrial Relations at York University. He is Academic Director of Osgoode Hall Law School’s executive LLM Program in Labour and Employment Law and a Senior Research Associate at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program. Professor Doorey is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School (LL.B., Ph.D), London School of Economics (LLM Labour Law), and the University of Toronto (B.A., M.I.R.).

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

previous post
Illegal Immigration and the Labour Market
next post
Unite-Here Win Good Settlement.. But Another Garment Factory Gone

You may also like

This Blog Entry is About the Lunacy of...

July 21, 2019

A Cross Country Update on the Card-Check versus...

October 3, 2018

The Folly of Not Voting to Strike in...

September 16, 2018

Unifor Posts Photos of Replacement Workers as Gander...

September 10, 2018

A Wrongful Dismissal Case and the Absence of...

August 29, 2018

China Said to Quickly Withdraw Approval for New...

August 27, 2018

The Latest Hot E-Commerce Idea in China: The...

August 27, 2018

The Trump Administration Just Did Something Unambiguously Good...

August 27, 2018

Unstable Situations Require Police In Riot Gear Face...

August 27, 2018

Trump’s War on the Justice System Threatens to...

August 27, 2018

Follow Us On Social Media

Twitter

Latest Tweets

David J. Doorey🇨🇦 @TheLawofWork@mas.to Follow

Law Prof. Talking #labor & #employment #law to the masses. @YorkUniversity @OsgoodeNews @LSELaw @CLJEHarvard @Jacobin @OnLaborBlog https://t.co/5V9r8VPHsh

TheLawofWork
thelawofwork David J. Doorey🇨🇦 @TheLawofWork@mas.to @thelawofwork ·
20m

Off to Vancouver folks. Please be sunny.

David J. Doorey🇨🇦 @TheLawofWork@mas.to @TheLawofWork

Speaking of middle aged guys who talk about Labour Law, I’m returning to my old stopping grounds in beautiful Vancouver later this month!

Thanks to @AllardLaw & @SFU_LBST for the invitation.

Hope to see you there, or join on-line:

https://www.sfu.ca/labour/community/news-events/news-2023/mapping-the-future-of-canadian-labour-law-lecture-by-dr--david-d.html

Reply on Twitter 1638176313533157377 Retweet on Twitter 1638176313533157377 Like on Twitter 1638176313533157377 3 Twitter 1638176313533157377
thelawofwork David J. Doorey🇨🇦 @TheLawofWork@mas.to @thelawofwork ·
13h

Pitching @Uber as a ‘green’ company is some next level shit.

Uber Canada @Uber_Canada

UberX Share provides a greener way to get from A to B, by moving more people with fewer cars. Now available in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal.

Reply on Twitter 1637978201598185472 Retweet on Twitter 1637978201598185472 7 Like on Twitter 1637978201598185472 33 Twitter 1637978201598185472
thelawofwork David J. Doorey🇨🇦 @TheLawofWork@mas.to @thelawofwork ·
16h

For me, this simple little case brings into focus the most important issues for future of Canadian labour law.

What does it mean to say workers have freedom to associate when they can be fired for associating?

Should law protect nonunion workers’ right to strike? How so? …

David J. Doorey🇨🇦 @TheLawofWork@mas.to @TheLawofWork

Was reading a decision again in which a group of daycare workers selected a spokesperson to raise employment related concerns with boss.

She was fired.

Workers struck in solidarity. They too were fired.

Did you know that no Canadian law protects these workers from dismissal?

Reply on Twitter 1637939578446258179 Retweet on Twitter 1637939578446258179 4 Like on Twitter 1637939578446258179 38 Twitter 1637939578446258179
Load More

Categories

  • Alberta
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Australia
  • British Columbia
  • Charter of Rights and Freedoms
  • Childcare
  • Class Action
  • Climate and Just Transition
  • Collective Bargaining
  • Common Law of Employment
  • Comparative Work Law
  • competition law
  • construction
  • COVID-19
  • Diversity
  • Employee Classification
  • Employment Insurance
  • Employment Regulation
  • Europe
  • Financial Industry
  • Fissured Work
  • Freedom of Association
  • frustration of contract
  • Gig Work
  • Health and Safety
  • Health Care
  • Human Rights
  • Immigration
  • Interest Arbitration
  • International Law
  • Labour Arbitration
  • Labour Economics
  • Law of Work Archive
  • Legal Profession
  • Manitoba
  • Migrant Workers
  • Minimum Wage
  • Newfoundland
  • Nova Scotia
  • OLRB
  • Ontario
  • Pension Bankruptcy
  • Privacy
  • Public Sector
  • Quebec
  • Real Life Pleadings
  • Saskatchewan
  • Scholarship
  • Sports Labour
  • Strikes and Lockouts
  • Student Post
  • Supreme Court of Canada
  • technology
  • Transnational Law
  • Uncategorized
  • Unions and Collective Bargaining
  • United States
  • Videos
  • Women and Work
  • Wrongful Dismissal
  • Home
  • About
  • Guest Contributors
Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Guest Contributors
  • Legal Scholarship
  • Useful Links
  • Archive
Menu
  • Legal Scholarship
  • Useful Links
  • Archive

2020. Canadian Law of Work Forum. All Rights Reserved.