Revised Statutes of Newfoundland 1990 Chapter A-12

(d) "contract of apprenticeship" means a written agreement entered into in accordance with this Act and the regulations between a person who is 16 years of age or older and an employer, under which the person agrees with the employer to learn a trade requiring a minimum of 4,000 hours of reasonably continuous employment and which provides for a course of related technical instruction for the person;

(e) "designated trade" means a skilled trade which the board has in accordance with this Act designated as being appropriate for a contract of apprenticeship;

(f) "director" means the Director of Apprenticeship appointed under this Act;

(g) "employer" includes a provincial, municipal or other public authority and an incorporated or unincorporated organization or association authorized by the minister to enter into a contract of apprenticeship;

(h) "improver" means a person who has been employed in a designated trade for a length of time not less than the term of apprenticeship specified in the appropriate apprenticeship standards and, except for seasonal employment, is employed in that trade and who, in the opinion of the board, requires training in order to be considered as fully qualified in that trade;

(i) "minister" means the Minister of Education or other minister of the Crown that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may designate for the administration of this Act;

(j) "plan of apprenticeship training" means a plan formulated under this Act by an employer and a trade union or 1 or more representatives of employees or declared by the board for the training of apprentices;

(k) "prospective apprentice" means a person who has satisfied the board that he or she is an appropriate and suitable person to be a party to a contract of apprenticeship, who has been registered with the board and who is to enter into a contract of apprenticeship; and

(l) "trade union" means lawful organization of employees formed for the purpose of regulating relations between employers and employees.

RSN1970 c12 s2; 1973 No34 Sch B; 1977 c29 s3; 1984 c42 Sch B; 1990 c26 Sch B

3. (1) This Act applies to designated trades.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the board and with the prior approval of that recommendation by the minister, by order limit the application of this Act or the regulations to the area of the province specified in that order.

RSN1970 c12 s3

4. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall, in the manner authorized by law, appoint a Director of Apprenticeship who, under the direction of the minister, is charged with the administration of this Act, the supervision of plans of apprenticeship training and the inspection of training conducted under this Act.

RSN1970 c12 s5

5. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may appoint a board which shall be known as the Provincial Apprenticeship Board and which shall be composed of a chairperson, 1 official of the Department of Employment and Labour Relations, 1 official of the Department of Education and, in equal representation,

(a) 2 or more persons representative of employers, 1 of whom shall retire each year; and

(b) 2 or more persons representative of employees, 1 of whom shall retire each year.

(2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may appoint

(a) 1 person representative of employers to be an alternate to serve on the board in the absence of a person appointed under paragraph (1)(a); and

(b) 1 person representative of employees to be an alternate to serve on the board in the absence of a person appointed under paragraph (1)(b)

and the alternates appointed under this subsection hold office for 2 years and are, while serving on the board, considered to be members of the board.

(3) Persons appointed under subsections (1) and (2) hold office during pleasure and are eligible to be reappointed.

(4) In the absence of the chairperson of the board from a meeting the members of the board who are present may appoint 1 of themselves to be temporary chairperson of the meeting.

RSN1970 c12 s6; 1973 No34 Sch B; 1977 c29 s3; 1984 c42 Sch B; 1990 c26 Sch B

6. (1) The members of the board shall serve without salary but those members who are not employed by the province may, when they are travelling to and from and attending meetings of the board, be paid a daily allowance of the amount and under the conditions that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council prescribes.

(2) Each member of the board shall, in addition to the allowance paid under subsection (1), be paid actual and reasonable expenses which the member necessarily incurs in attending meetings of the board.

RSN1970 c12 s7

7. (1) The board shall hold quarterly meetings and may hold special meetings when considered necessary by the chairperson.

(2) The board may fix a quorum for its meetings and adopt rules for its procedure and shall keep a record of its proceedings and of decisions of the board.

RSN1970 c12 s8

8. (1) The board

(a) shall determine whether a trade is a skilled trade and appropriate for a contract of apprenticeship and, where it so determines, shall designate that trade by name as being appropriate for a contract of apprenticeship;

(b) may certify contracts of apprenticeship as binding upon the parties to them, approve assignments of contracts of apprenticeship and approve plans of apprenticeship training;

(c) may terminate or cancel a contract of apprenticeship upon agreement of the parties to it or for proper and sufficient cause in the opinion of the board;

(d) may, with respect to a person who wishes to become an apprentice, assess, evaluate and grant credits for

(i) trade experience as a worker or as a member of the armed forces,

(ii) trade training in a vocational school or in the armed forces,

and determine in those cases the further time required to complete the period of apprenticeship;

(e) shall register apprentices, prospective apprentices and improvers and keep a record of contracts of apprenticeship and of their disposition;

(f) shall determine the nature of a course of related technical instruction to be given an apprentice under a contract of apprenticeship and shall establish the duration of those courses in a particular trade and the manner in which those courses shall be conducted;

(g) may provide for periodic trade tests and final examination of apprentices, the manner and time of those tests and examinations, the conditions under which those tests and examinations shall be conducted and the granting of status as an improver or as a person fully qualified in a trade;

(h) may appoint examining committees to conduct tests and examinations for the purpose of paragraph (g) and define the duties of those committees;

(i) may issue suitable certificates or diplomas to apprentices who complete their training and pass the necessary trade tests and examinations;

(j) may appoint advisory committees that shall be equally representative of employers and employees in respect of apprenticeship in trades and prescribe the duties of each committee;

(k) shall settle finally and conclusively disputes arising out of a contract of apprenticeship or a plan of apprenticeship training;

(l) may by resolution delegate to the director a power or a duty vested in it by paragraphs (b) to (j) and section 27 and in the same manner may revoke a delegation so made;

(m) may by permit exempt from the operation of regulations made under subparagraph 22(a)(iii) a person who is engaged in a designated trade when regulations in respect of that designated trade made under that subparagraph come into force; and

(n) may amend or revoke and substitute another for a plan of apprenticeship training declared by it and amend or revoke and substitute another for a decision made by it.

(2) Where a power or duty is exercised by the director under paragraph (1)(l) the board

(a) may on its own initiative; and

(b) shall at the request of a person who feels aggrieved by the exercise of that power or duty, made within 60 days after the exercise of the power or duty,

review the matter and shall either confirm the action of the director or act anew in the matter as if the power or duty concerned had not been delegated to the director.

RSN1970 c12 s9

9. A person who is 16 years of age or older may enter into a contract of apprenticeship with an employer.

RSN1970 c12 s10

10. A person or employer may not be a party to a contract of apprenticeship unless the board is satisfied that each is a proper and suitable person to be a party to it and sincerely wishes to fulfil the obligations of the contract.

RSN1970 c12 s11

11. A contract of apprenticeship shall contain

(a) the names of the contracting parties;

(b) the date of birth of the apprentice;

(d) the number of hours to be spent by the apprentice in reasonably continuous employment, the nature of the apprentice's duties while engaged in the employment, the maximum number of hours each day and days each week which the apprentice shall spend in the employment and the number of hours which the apprentice shall spend in a course of related technical instruction;

(e) a scale of wages providing for increases at fixed intervals to be paid to the apprentice by the employer for time spent in that employer's employment;

(f) a provision for a period of probation of not less than 3 months during which time the contract of apprenticeship may be terminated by either party upon giving to the other party and to the board 1 week's written notice of an intention to do so;

(g) a provision that, after the probationary period referred to in paragraph (f), the contract of apprenticeship may be terminated by the board by mutual consent of the parties to it or cancelled by the board for proper and sufficient cause in the opinion of the board; and

(h) a provision that the employer, if unable to fulfil the obligations under the contract of apprenticeship, may, with the approval of the board, assign the contract to another employer if the apprentice gives consent to the assignment and if the other employer agrees to assume the employer's obligations under the contract of apprenticeship.

RSN1970 c12 s12

12. The number of hours to be spent by an apprentice in reasonably continuous employment under a contract of apprenticeship shall not be less than 4,000 but in a case in which time is credited to an apprentice under paragraph 8(1)(d) that time shall be considered to have been spent by the apprentice under the contract of apprenticeship.

RSN1970 c12 s13

13. Notwithstanding a provision in a contract of apprenticeship, the rate of wages to be paid an apprentice by an employer in a trade shall, irrespective of the date on which the contract of apprenticeship was executed, in no case be less than the rate of wages established for apprentices in that trade by a collective labour agreement to which the employer is a party.

RSN1970 c12 s14

14. A contract of apprenticeship is not binding upon the parties to it unless it has been certified as binding by the board and the board may refuse to certify a contract of apprenticeship which, in its opinion, is not in the best interests of a party to it.

RSN1970 c12 s15

15. The board may require from the parties to a proposed contract of apprenticeship evidence, including certified copies of the records of birth, that it considers necessary.

RSN1970 c12 s16

16. (1) Either party may suspend a contract of apprenticeship for gross misconduct on the other's part but only with the consent of the director.

(2) Where a contract of apprenticeship has been suspended in accordance with subsection (1), the director shall immediately investigate the circumstances of the suspension and report the findings to the board.

(3) Upon receipt of the findings of the director under subsection (2) and within 3 weeks after the suspension of the contract of apprenticeship, the board shall make a further investigation, where necessary, into the cause of suspension and either cancel the contract of apprenticeship or make an order terminating the suspension and as to wages payable to the apprentice during the period of suspension as appears to the board to be fair and reasonable.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the parties to a contract of apprenticeship may before the contract has been cancelled terminate a suspension of the contract.

RSN1970 c12 s17

17. (1) One or more employers and 1 or more trade unions or 1 or more representatives of employees may by written agreement formulate a plan for the training of apprentices in a trade in which they all are engaged and the plan may, in respect of the trade, provide for

(a) the form and requirements of the contracts of apprenticeship which shall be used and which shall comply with the minimum requirements of this Act;

(b) the ratio of apprentices to persons who are fully qualified in the trade in the case of each employer;

(d) the ages above or below which, subject to this Act, a person shall not be employed except under a contract or apprenticeship;

(e) limiting the number of apprentices having regard to its future need of skilled employees; and

(f) those other provisions for the proper training of apprentices that the parties consider advisable.

(2) The board may by order declare a plan for the training of apprentices in the whole or a part of a designated trade with respect to all industries or to an industry or business named in the order and the order shall apply to the whole or the part of the province as the board prescribes and then or at the time that the board prescribes in the order the plan applies in accordance with the order.

(3) A plan of apprenticeship training declared under subsection (2) may, in respect of the designated trade, provide for the matters referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) to (e) and other provisions for the proper training of apprentices that the board considers advisable.

RSN1970 c12 s18

18. A plan of apprenticeship training shall not be placed in operation unless it has been approved by the board.

RSN1970 c12 s19

19. (1) Where a plan of apprenticeship training has been declared to apply in respect of the whole or part of a trade in an area of the province a person shall not enter into a contract of apprenticeship in that trade or part of a trade in that area of the province except in accordance with this Act and the regulations and the plan.

(2) A person is not bound by that contract of apprenticeship unless it complies with this Act and the regulations and the plan.

RSN1970 c12 s20

20. (1) Upon the written complaint of an interested person or upon the director's initiative, the director may make an investigation for the purpose of determining whether there has been a violation of a contract of apprenticeship or plan of apprenticeship training.

(2) For the purposes of an investigation under subsection (1), the director may conduct the hearings, inquiries and other proceedings that he or she considers necessary or advisable and shall report the findings to the board and to the parties affected.

(3) The board shall, upon the findings reported under subsection (2) and the further inquiries and investigations that it considers necessary or advisable, make its decision in the matter concerned and the decision of the board is final and conclusive and binding upon the parties affected.

RSN1970 c12 s21

21. A decision of the board that there has been a violation of a contract of apprenticeship makes the contract voidable at the option of the aggrieved party.

RSN1970 c12 s22

22. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) in respect of a designated trade

(i) providing for examinations for and the issuing, renewal, replacement, suspension and cancellation of certificates of qualification to apprentices, improvers and persons fully qualified in a trade,

(ii) providing for the issuing, renewal, replacement, suspension and cancellation of permits referred to in this Act or the regulations,

(iii) requiring all persons in an area defined in an order made under subsection 3(2), other than a registered apprentice, an improver, a person who holds a permit issued under regulations made under subparagraph (ii) and a person who receives a letter of authorization under section 27 to hold a certificate of qualification and prohibiting the employment of a person who does not hold that certificate,

(iv) prescribing the terms and conditions under which certificates of qualification and permits may be issued, renewed, replaced, suspended or cancelled, and

(v) prescribing the functions, tasks and duties which may be performed by apprentices, improvers or persons fully qualified in that trade, or identifying it by reference to the functions, tasks and duties performed or to be performed by persons fully qualified in that trade;

(b) providing for the payment of allowances by the minister to apprentices and improvers while they are attending full-time training courses and to prospective apprentices while they are attending pre-apprenticeship courses;

(d) fixing the amount of the allowances payable under regulations made under paragraph (b);

(e) providing for the recovery by and repayment to the minister of allowances paid under regulations made under paragraph (b) or a part of it by an apprentice or improver who does not continue the training course and by a prospective apprentice who does not continue the pre-apprenticeship course;

(f) providing for the recovery by and repayment to the minister of the whole or a part of an amount paid by the minister for or on account of a course of instruction taken by or provided for an apprentice or improver who does not continue the training course and by a prospective apprentice who does not continue the pre-apprenticeship course;

(g) requiring payment of fees and prescribing the amount of those fees for

(i) examinations for certificates of qualification,

(ii) certificates of qualification and renewals and copies and replacement of them,

(iii) permits and renewals and copies and replacement of them, and

(iv) certificates of apprenticeship and copies and replacement of them; and

(h) generally, to give effect to the purpose of this Act.

RSN1970 c12 s23

23. Where, under this or another Act or the regulations, the signature of

(a) the minister; or

(b) the Deputy Minister of Education

is to be placed on a certificate issued under this Act or the regulations, the signature may be engraved, lithographed, printed, rubber-stamped or otherwise mechanically reproduced on the certificate.

RSN1970 c12 s24; 1973 No34 Sch B; 1977 c29 s3; 1984 c42 Sch B; 1990 c26 Sch B

24. An apprentice shall not be required to do work in a plant or department of it where work has stopped because of a labour dispute.

RSN1970 c12 s25

25. The province shall provide the facilities for conducting the courses of related technical instruction for the purpose of this Act that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council considers adequate and shall bear the expenses involved in connection with those courses.

RSN1970 c12 s26

26. The minister may, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, enter into agreements with the Government of Canada, municipalities and other parties that the minister considers necessary for the administration of this Act.

RSN1970 c12 s27

27. Where a plan of apprenticeship training has been declared to apply in respect of a trade, a person between the ages of 16 and 21 years who has not completed training as an apprentice shall not be employed in that trade for more than a total of 3 months in a year between those ages unless the board issues a letter of authorization authorizing the apprentice to be employed or unless he or she enters into a contract of apprenticeship.

RSN1970 c12 s28

28. A person who fails to comply with this Act or of the regulations or of an order of the board made under subsection 16(3) or who violates a contract of apprenticeship or plan of apprenticeship training made under authority of this Act is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than $25 and not exceeding $100 and in default of payment to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 months.

RSN1970 c12 s29; 1971 No20 s2