Mining companies are making headway in getting their employees safely back to work. While they face many of the same issues as other employers, they must also deal with questions that are more specific to their unique workplaces. Recently, Jay Kellerman, Head of Stikeman Elliott's Mining Group, spoke with Nancy Ramalho, partner in the firm's Employment and Labour practice, about some of the issues that the firm has been working through with our mining clients. A video version of their presentation may be viewed here.
The issues addressed in the presentation include the following, among others:
- How employee screening interacts with privacy law;
- Responses of human rights commissions to COVID-related workplace measures;
- Dealing with employees in higher-risk categories and employees who are reluctant to return to work;
- Legalities of extending rotations on “fly in fly out” contracts; and
- Constructive dismissal issues in the mining context.
The discussion concludes with some tips about how mining companies, in consultation with employees and unions wherever possible, can respond effectively to the challenges of the pandemic.
(13 minutes, 54 seconds)
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