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MAC goes back on unpaid jobs

By Ramisha Farooq

Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) was caught in the middle of a spat last week when an alleged illegally unpaid position was posted online.

According to the Faculty of Communication and Design Internship Committee (FCADIC), a group working towards ethical employment opportunities for students, the positions used to be paid before budget cuts made them unpaid.

Since posting the position, Global Spectrum, the company currently managing the MAC, has converted them to paid positions.

FCADIC has said in a statement that if the position is going to be unpaid, then employers should include approval of academic credit from a post-secondary institution so that students receive compensation for their time.

“Based on past practice we started the process to recruit a few volunteers again. We were made aware the scope of the duties out lined in a volunteer recruitment notice were more consistent with a job under the recently enacted legislation regarding interns,” said Keith Baulk, general manager of the MAC.”In the past we had a few volunteers each varsity season.”

According to Ontario labour regulations under the Employment Standards Act (ESA), all persons performing work for a company are considered employees and are therefore entitled to ESA rights such as minimum wage.

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