News briefs

Vacations go unused • HRPAO takes board elections online • Employer’s guide for increasing Aboriginal representation • Repetitive strain research centre established • Ont. employers to get apprentice tax credits • Preparing for end to mandatory retirement • CHRP aces

Vacations go unused

Toronto
— Canadian employers save almost $8 billion a year from employees not taking all of their vacation time, according to a poll of 1,000 people by Ipsos-Reid for travel website Expedia.ca. About one-third of Canadians are not taking all of their entitled time off. And they’re giving up more than just a day or two here and there. They average eight missed vacation days per year. Workers on the West Coast are most reluctant to take time off, with 41 per cent of people in British Columbia saying they do not take all of their vacation time. Employees from Quebec are the most likely to take all of their holidays, but even there 30 per cent report not taking all their vacation time. Respondents to a Globe and Mail online poll in August, reported similar scenarios, with 36 per cent of 10,500 people saying they do not use all their entitled vacation time.

HRPAO takes board elections online

Toronto
— Members of the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario will be able to vote online in board elections. This year nomination and election material will be distributed electronically to voting members who will also be able to cast their votes online. Members without e-mail access will still receive the material by mail.

Employer’s guide for increasing Aboriginal representation

Calgary
— An online resource to assist employers looking to improve Aboriginal recruitment and retention has been created by the BEAHR project (Building Environmental Aboriginal Human Resources), which receives funding from Canada’s sector council program. While the new employer’s guide was created for the environmental sector, it contains HR strategies, information, tools, templates and case studies applicable to all workplaces. For information visit www.beahr.com/employersguide.

Repetitive strain research centre established

Waterloo, Ont.
— Assessing workplace hazards that contribute to musculoskeletal disorders and developing workplace strategies to prevent these repetitive strain injuries are the focus of a new centre funded by Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. The Centre of Research Expertise in the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders and Disabilities (CRE-PREMUS) will be located at the University of Waterloo, pooling the expertise of researchers in the field with input from government, employers and unions on how to raise awareness and promote prevention.

Ont. employers to get apprentice tax credits

Toronto
— Ontario is moving ahead with an Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit that will refund 25 to 30 per cent of salaries paid to apprentices. Employers can receive up to $5,000 per year per eligible apprentice. In addition, the government is committing up to $6 million in 2004-05 to create new co-op apprenticeship programs that will let young people train as apprentices while obtaining associated college diplomas. The province is also creating 1,500 scholarships of $1,000 each for high school dropouts who return to complete high school and enter apprenticeships. It will give a $2,000 bonus to employers that hire these students.

Preparing for end to mandatory retirement

Toronto
— Ontario is holding public consultations this month on the impact of ending mandatory retirement. Labour Minister Chris Bentley said the consultations will be followed by legislation to end the practice.

CHRP aces

Toronto
— The first HR practitioners to receive Certified Human Resources Professional designations under new national standards have been announced. Top marks in national exams were scored by Denise Buchanan (B.C.), Christine Davern (Sask.), Sandra Unik (Man.), Sarah Nash (Ont.), André Baril (Que.), Sandra Belliveau (N.B.) and Sarah Archibald (N.S.).

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