Without education, the modernization of federal labour standards may hold very little value, says Alex Furlong, president of the Yukon Federation of Labour.

'You're undertaking a review across the country, but what education are you going to follow with?' Furlong asked representatives of the federal Labour Standards Review Commission at a public hearing in Whitehorse last Thursday.

'You've wasted your own time and everyone else's if you don't follow with some type of education,' Furlong said.

Joe Fontana, the federal Minister of Labour and Housing, has launched the commission to study federal labour standards, which have not been reviewed since they were enacted in 1965.

The labour standards cover approximately 15,000 employers and 10 per cent of the Canadian workforce in the areas that include, banking, telecommunications, Crown corporations and some first nations' activities.

The labour standards ensure provisions such as hours of work, minimum wages, holidays, termination notice, severance pay, unjust dismissal and types of leave.

Doug Rody, the labour federation's executive director, said part of the problem with compliance with the code is ignorance about its regulations.

'Some might not be in compliance because they don't know,' he said. 'Some others are knowingly breaking the law.'

'The responsibilities of all concerned has to come through clearly,' added Furlong. He suggested that beyond education on the standards, providing employees and employers with plain language copies of the code may be helpful in the future.

Whitehorse was the first stop on the commission's series of hearings in 14 Canadian cities.

Jim Brohman, a regional representative with the Public Service Alliance of Canada, told the commission that there isn't enough working together between employers and employees in regard to labour standards.

The main objective of the review is to look at the problems existing with the code and to try to determine the best strategies to solve them, Neil Gavigan, senior director on the Federal Labour Standards Review told the Star.

'When the code was passed in 1965, the majority of moms stayed home with the kids. The work environment was different. People had nine-to-five jobs for life,' Gavigan said.

'Today, women work, parents work, there are pressures on what happens when kids are sick, the workplace has changed, technology has changed the way work is organized. The commissioner is trying to be very, very sensitive to the variety of issues that are out there.'

Daphne Taras, an expert advisor for the review from the University of Calgary, agrees.

'We're not looking only at the wording. The mandate is deliberately very broad. Law isn't always the best solution,' she said. 'Law will never revolutionize the work place. The parties revolutionize the work place.'

But, Furlong believes legislation set by the federal government can have a trickle-down effect for labour standards in the rest of Canada.

'If you have the authority to create the legislation, you should do it,' he said. 'I think the will of the federal government really needs to come through in this.'

The problem is, though, that no matter how much the labour standards are reviewed, if the employers and employees don't know about it, the system can't be fixed, said Taras.

No matter how well the code works, there are going to be parts of it that don't, agreed Rody.

It's education and a model that promotes joint partnerships between employers and employees that may truly modernize the labour standards, added Brohman.

'Companies are crying out for flexibility and employers are crying out for flexibility. We have to figure out what flexibility means, and that is not an easy thing,' said Taras.

The commission has received 57 briefs from across Canada regarding labour standards and plan to publish the findings of the commission by June 2006.

The hope is to come up with legislative and non-legislative solutions that won't overwhelm employers to distraction, added Gavigan.

The diverse interests across the country and industries are drawing the question, 'Is there a one size fits all strategy for solving the labour problems of the 21st century?' asked Taras.

During the public hearings, attendees in Whitehorse were stressing the need for discussion on minimum wages, general holidays, sick leave and annual vacation as among their top concerns while modernizing the standards.

'We're asking employers, workers, people who work in government doing the enforcement, is there a better model? Or are there multiple models out there that it will help?' asked Taras.

The next consultation will be in Ottawa on Wednesday and Thursday.