~~ Vol. 3, Issue No. 33 Contractors get | audit warning | ‘TERRACE — In response to an. - overwhelming and persistent volume of complaints about em- ployment practices of Northwest logging companies, the local Ministry of Labour office is preparing to launch an investiga- ‘ tion. . . * Opposition leader and B.C. New Democratic Party chief Mike Harcourt atopped in Terrace recently as part of a fast-moving tour of the Northwest. Harcourt spoke to an audience at the Happy Gang Centre on NDP policy re- garding native land claims, economic development and a variety of other _ Issues. See page 2 for story. Steelhead shortage spawns © battle Bob Hooton, of the Fish and Wildlife Branch of the Ministry of Environment, has said that, effective last Monday morning, ‘sports fishermen on the Skeena drainage system, or thé Tseax. and Cranberry. Rivers in the Lower Nass system, will be allowed only one steelhead each and then will be restricted to catch and release only. by Tod Strachan ‘Gord Judzentis of Water Witch Excursions in Terrace used the opportunity of a press - continued on page 23 Roger Davis, Industrial Rela- tions Officer for the Terrace region, recently notified more than 140 contractors, account- ants and bookkeepers involved in Northwest logging operations that their payroll records will be audited to ensure. compliance -with the Employment Standards Act. - Davis said that in 1986 about 50 percent of. the cases he was called upon to resolve were relat- - ed to complaints against woods - employers. ‘‘This year the pace seems to be about the same,’’ he said, co In a letter dated June 22 sent out to the contractors, Davis f makes particular note of the in- |. creasingly widespread practice of engaging individual workers as ‘subcontractors’ rather than ‘payrolling them as employees. | ‘There appears to be some con- fusion in the industry regarding what an ‘employee’ ‘is...’’ he states. ‘‘Just because.an employ- er hires someone.with their own saw and caulk boots. to ‘buck’ wood and.pays them on a piece’ or commission basis, that does NOT necessarily mean the per- son is a self-employed ‘subcon- tractor’.’’? He goes on to indicate that each case is assessed in- dividually, but ‘‘generally speaking, the Ministry considers in the aforementioned case that there is an ‘employer/employee’ relationship.’’ TERRACE, B.C., WEDNESDAY, August 19, 1987. * Legislative Library, O1 Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4 ' Davis noted in an interview. & that once that relationship is an -established fact all the condi- tions of the Employment Stand- ards Act come into force, in- cluding frequency of payment, provisions for holiday pay to be shown separately from other it- ems, limitations on what can be ‘ deducted from an employee’s paycheque, minimum daily pay and overtime premiums. No de- ductions, Davis said, except in- come tax, Unemployment Insur- . § ance premiums ard Canada @ Pension Plan premiums can be taken from an employee’s che- _que without the employee’s per- mission in writing. ‘‘Any agreement to waive or nullify the terms of the (Employ- ment Standards) Act is in itself null and void,’’ he said. Employers can be ordered -to _ compensate employees as far. . back as six months for any de- ductions that violate the Act. Unethical employment prac- continued on page 21 a Outside Date HI Lo Prec. Aug. 10 26 15 trace of rain Aug 11. 26 14 nil Aug. 12 19 «19 5.2 mm raln Aug. 13 aa oii 5.6 mm rain Aug. 14 Pa - all ’ Aug. 16 19 13 trace of rain Aug. 16 7 12 trace of raln Forscast: Mainly cloudy with showers and cool. Highs around 17° and lows about 9". Inside Business Guide ' 10 Church Diractory . 44 Classifled Ads 21 Coming Events 16 Comics _- 20 Crossword . 20 Dining Directory 2 Entertainment — ' 6 Horoscope 16 Lettera 5,7 Opinions ; 4 Sports . 8 Stork Report . 8 Talk of the Town 5 Equipment from Northern Mountain Hellcop bucket came to the ald of Thornhill volunteer flrefighters and the B.C, Forest Service in extinguishing a recent fire on Terrace Mountain. | 50 CENTS. ters of Tarrace in the form of a Bell 206 chopper carrying a monsoon Blaze hits Terrace Mountain A fire on Terrace Mountain last week was attributed to either children playing with matches or an abandoned campfire, accor- ding to Ministry of Forests spokesman Joe Katasonoff. The fire had serious potential because it occurred near a populated area during a time of high hazard on a dry south face, said Katasonoff. ‘‘But as it turn- ed out, we brought it under con- trol and put it out within about four hours with our Initial At- tack crew and the assistance of a Northern Mountain helicopter with. a monsoon bucket, and help from Thornhill Fire Department, “We have been trying to tell people to please be careful, and we're suggesting that parents kind of keep an eye on where their kids are at,’”’ Katasonoff - said. . ; . Two other forest fires were reported under control and in © the mop-up stages about the same time as the Terrace Moun-. tain fire occurred. Katasonoff said that one was an industrial fire that was brought under control with the help of DC-6 air tankers out of continued on page 23 - Pais