Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your invitation to appear here today to discuss Bill C-38, as it contains measures that we support and that are very important to our members.
My name is Terrance Oakey and I'm the president of Merit Canada. Merit Canada is the national voice of eight provincial open shop construction associations. Open shop construction in Canada represents roughly 70% of the industry, and our member companies directly employ approximately 60,000 Canadians.
I want to begin by saying that Merit companies do in fact pay a fair wage and have a competitive benefits plan, including retirement savings, that is transferable between Merit companies. Our members compete every day for labour, so in terms of pay and benefits there's little difference between our companies and the ones affiliated with unions.
Our members are united by one common vision: that construction contracts, employment, and individual compensation should be based on merit, regardless of employee affiliation. For the benefit of all honourable members, “open shop” does not mean non-unionized. It means that we have both union and non-union employees and do not discriminate against workers simply because they choose not to join a union.
I will address the specific issue of the so-called Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act, which will be repealed as a result of the adoption of Bill C-38.
Wages and working conditions today are a far cry from 80 years ago when this law was brought in. Back then, there were few, if any, laws and regulations in place at any level to protect the interests of construction workers—although today we have a host of provincial measures in place to enhance and protect working conditions, wages, and hours of labour.
Our companies believe that employees are our best asset, and our members cannot successfully bid or win contracts without a highly trained workforce that operates with safety as their number one priority.
We support the repeal of the act because we believe that free and competitive labour markets are the best way to establish wage rates. Therefore, there is no need for federal government regulation in this area. This is borne out by Statistics Canada, which indicates that construction workers are paid an average rate of $28.35 per hour, making them the second-highest-paid workers in Canada. This rate exceeds the national average by some 30%.
Another reason we support the repeal is that most small, family-run construction companies are reluctant to establish a dual wage structure within their company for private work and public sector work. Many open shop companies simply refuse to bid on federal projects, and this results in lower levels of competition and increased construction costs for the government.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to bring to your committee our perspective and our support for the measures contained in Bill C-38. We would welcome any questions you may have.