‘It’s illegal’: Safety concerns in the skilled trades

The number of unregistered apprentices on jobs is rising, according to Windsor-West MPP Lisa Gretzky. CTV Windsor’s Stefanie Masotti has more.

Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky is calling on the provincial government to address a list of concerns in the skilled trades.

She says there is a proliferation of workers who graduated from a skilled trades college program but don’t yet have their apprenticeships and they are working on job sites unsupervised and doing electrical work.

“It is illegal,” said Gretzky. “Not only dangerous for the people doing it, but dangerous for the people who will eventually be living in that building.”

She says these workers often get paid minimum wage.

“It’s more profitable if an owner can take in a bunch of unregistered people and put them to work,” said Karl Lovett, business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 773. “That’s what we’re trying to fix in Ontario.”

Gretzky says the province needs monitor and enforce the crisis before a tragedy hits.

“One death or injury on a workplace on a worksite is one too many,” she said.

The Ministry of Labour has not provided a comment.

Jeff Keyeux, a master electrician, licensed electrical contractor and small business owner says not only are graduates not being paid appropriately for their work but hours aren’t being accounted for towards completing their mandatory appreciation of 9,000 hours.

“I had an apprentice…that worked in the industry for another contractor and worked for two years doing this stuff and never got registered,” said Keyeux. “Two years of experience he doesn’t get credit for. Now he’s starting at square one.”

Gretzky admits this is not an overnight fix but that the government must make it a priority.

Keyeux says it’s great the government has acknowledged the shortage of skilled trades workers but that’s not enough.

“We’re going to throw money at it to fix the problem, but it will be just throwing money away,” he said.