Kevin Aylward, Minister of Environment and Labour, today released a compact disc multimedia computer program providing information on the Labour Standards Act

July 31, 1996
(Environment and Labour)

Kevin Aylward, Minister of Environment and Labour, today released a compact disc multimedia computer program providing information on the Labour Standards Act.

This computer program is the first time the provincial government has undertaken such a project to provide information on legislation using an interactive medium such as multimedia. With financial assistance from the Human Resources Development Agreement and in cooperation with Newtel Information Solutions, the Labour Standards Division has designed and developed this program to explain legislative responsibilities under the Labour Standards Act. "It is the first time in Canada that a product of this kind has been developed to describe these roles and responsibilities. I am pleased that my department is able to present this technical information in such a user-friendly format," said the minister.

This program has been designed to not only assist current employers and employees but also to capture the attention of those entering the workforce for the first time, such as students in high school. To ensure these students have full access to the program, the Department of Education intends to examine the integration of the program into the Enterprise Education, Career Education, Cooperative Education and Economics Education curriculum in the high schools. As well as copies of this compact disc being sent to all high schools in the province, post-secondary institutions in the province are also targeted.

In explaining the province's labour standards, the program uses scenes from Newfoundland and topics that catch the viewer's attention. For example, a scene from Marble Mountain is used to explain vacation pay while a picture of the General Hospital's ambulance is used to describe sick leave. Topics are dealt with using examples such as a picture of an oil rig to describe work requirements in a remote location and a stork to explain pregnancy leave.

"This multimedia version of the act represents some of the new services our company is now offering to our clients," said Hugh Grant, President and CEO of Newtel Information Solutions. "We were delighted to complete this project for the department and look forward to showcasing our expertise in this area by producing additional such products in the future."

The department will be demonstrating this multimedia program throughout the province during the next several months. Copies will also be available to employers, unions, libraries, law firms and provincial and federal offices throughout the province. "We intend to provide as much information as possible to our clients who avail of the Labour Standards Act. Our experience has been that violations of the Labour Standards Act occur because of a lack of awareness of roles and responsibilities. My department will work aggressively during the next year to ensure that our clients have the information they need to properly address labour standards issues in this province," said the minister.

Contact Peter Furlong, Labour Standards Division, (709) 729-2743.

BACKGROUNDER

The Labour Standards Act Multimedia Program was an initiative of the Labour Standards Division. It was developed and produced in cooperation with Newtel Information Solutions limited and funded by the Canada/Newfoundland Cooperation Agreement on Human Resource Development.

The multimedia computer program on the Labour Standards Act was developed during 1995-96 and is intended to augment the Labour Standards Division's education program. It is an interactive program which incorporates audio visual, animation, and still pictures relevant to the topics covered by the Act.

The project is the first of its kind to be produced anywhere in Canada on Labour Standards and has been enthusiastically accepted by those who have viewed it throughout the testing process.

In recent years the department has taken a more pro active role toward creating a more harmonious labour atmosphere among government, business and labour. The division felt that the best way to achieve this harmony was through education. As a supplement to the division's ongoing education program, the multimedia program was developed.

While the information contained in the program would be of interest to all employers in the province, at this time the multimedia program is targeted towards high schools and post-secondary institutions in the province. To this end it has been included in four courses in Level III curriculum in high school.

The program was developed recognizing the difficulty for lay people to interpret legislation. This program is very user friendly and allows the user to view specific sections of the act relevant to them. It also makes the actual Labour Standards Act and Regulations available to anyone with access to the compact disc.

The program was designed in such a way that upcoming changes to the Labour Standards Act can be accommodated merely by providing the holders of the disc with a floppy disk containing the changes which can be downloaded on to the computer's hard drive containing the program and overwriting the outdated information. It will not be necessary to reproduce new compact discs.

Realizing also that not everyone has access to a computer, the program will also be made available on video cassette and distributed to interested parties.

1996 07 31

2:25 p.m.

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