Proposal aims to free workers from mandatory high heels

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This article was published 05/04/2018 (2884 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Employers would be prohibited from requiring that women wear high heels at work if a private member’s bill, approved in principle on Thursday, is passed by the Manitoba legislature, its proponent says.

The bill, sponsored by NDP MLA Nahanni Fontaine, would amend The Workplace Safety and Health Act to prevent employers from requiring that workers wear unsafe footwear.

While her two-page bill doesn’t specifically refer to high heels, Fontaine left no doubt about Bill 219’s intent.

“The salient point of this (bill) is that you cannot mandate women to wear heels in the workplace,” she said. She described long shifts where women have to stand for six to eight hours in heels as “very torturous”.

“I think that people are starting to see that in 2018 you really can’t mandate women to wear high heels and not see it as discriminatory,” Fontaine said.

British Columbia banned the mandatory wearing of high heels in the workplace last year. The Ontario legislature is eyeing a similar measure.

Rochelle Squires, minister responsible for the status of women, said she is “very intrigued” by the bill and is looking forward to discussing its potential impact with affected industries.

She said in the legislature that she finds it “absolutely appalling” that an employer could mandate that women wear high heels.

“I have worn high heels almost every day of my life,” she said in the House. “I’ve suffered ill effects from that. I’ve suffered bunions and blisters and aching backs and all those great things that go along with wearing high heels, but it’s always been a choice.”

While Squires endorsed the bill’s intent she stopped short of supporting it categorically. Neither would she suggest a timeline for its passage.

She cautioned that any proposed legislation not have “unintended consequences.”

Talia Syrie, owner and manager of The Tallest Poppy restaurant in the West Broadway area, called the bill a “no-brainer.”

She said if a waitress chooses to wear heels to work in her establishment she makes sure they also bring along “sensible shoes to wear” as a backup.

Syrie said the proposed legislation is long overdue and that it is “embarrassing” that some employers in her industry require women to wear high heels.

Tim Feduniw, executive director of the Manitoba Restaurant and Food Services Association, said he has no problems with the bill as it is written.

He noted that there is no mention of high heels in the proposed legislation.

“It’s promoting a safe and comfortable workplace environment. It’s quite delightfully written, actually,” he said.

Feduniw refused to discuss the idea of banning the mandatory wearing of high heels. “It’s a moot point because it’s not in there (the bill),” he said.

John Graham, director of government relations (Prairies) with the Retail Council of Canada, said few retailers would be affected if the bill passes.

“From our perspective it sounds like a reasonable proposition,” he said.

While Fontaine’s bill passed second reading in the legislature on Thursday, it faces several more steps before becoming law, including public hearings.

“There are many unanswered questions about who this would apply to and how it would be implemented…” Squires said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca