NO EXEMPTIONS FOR IT FIRMS YET
Ottawa — Hoping to follow in British Columbia’s footsteps, Ontario high-tech firms are lobbying the provincial government for special exemptions from labour laws which dictate terms for overtime pay and could bar any employees from working more than 60 hours a week. Ontario Labour Minister Chris Stockwell rejected a blanket exemption but said he would consider limited exemptions when labour legislation is rewritten later this year. To qualify for exemptions in British Columbia, workers must be in one of the listed occupations, meet certain post-secondary education levels or work experience and have a pay package that includes eligibility for a bonus or stock options.
HIGH TECH GROWS UP
Westport, Conn. — Well-known for creative pay structures, dotcom companies are beginning to settle into a more stable compensation groove; still offering significant cash increases but becoming more selective in distributing equity to employees, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Internet Compensation Survey 2000. With Wall Street beginning to focus more on bottom line results, Internet companies are acting more like traditional “bricks-and-mortar” firms. Meanwhile another study of IT compensation out of the U.S. found Java programmers remain a very hot commodity, receiving 15 per cent pay increases in the last year. Java is particularly hot right now because it is the language most popular for e-business applications.
Ottawa — Hoping to follow in British Columbia’s footsteps, Ontario high-tech firms are lobbying the provincial government for special exemptions from labour laws which dictate terms for overtime pay and could bar any employees from working more than 60 hours a week. Ontario Labour Minister Chris Stockwell rejected a blanket exemption but said he would consider limited exemptions when labour legislation is rewritten later this year. To qualify for exemptions in British Columbia, workers must be in one of the listed occupations, meet certain post-secondary education levels or work experience and have a pay package that includes eligibility for a bonus or stock options.
HIGH TECH GROWS UP
Westport, Conn. — Well-known for creative pay structures, dotcom companies are beginning to settle into a more stable compensation groove; still offering significant cash increases but becoming more selective in distributing equity to employees, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Internet Compensation Survey 2000. With Wall Street beginning to focus more on bottom line results, Internet companies are acting more like traditional “bricks-and-mortar” firms. Meanwhile another study of IT compensation out of the U.S. found Java programmers remain a very hot commodity, receiving 15 per cent pay increases in the last year. Java is particularly hot right now because it is the language most popular for e-business applications.
