Frequently Asked Questions
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- OBCCTC Audits
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Driver Compensation
- Driver Benefit Calculations
- Business Costs
- Licence Requirements
- Truck Tags
- Selling and/or Transferring Licences
OBCCTC December 9, 2016 Bulletin:
Open top containers and flat racks fall outside the definition of container in the Regulation.
OBCCTC Decision #20/2016:
The definition of a container is found it Section 1(1) the Regulation:
“container” means a metal box furnished or approved by an ocean carrier for the marine transportation of goods.”
Containers which are identified by a 4 letter identification codes consistent with containers, “furnished or approved by an ocean carrier for the marine transportation of goods” are to be presumed to be “containers” as defined in the Regulation. Where containers are so identified, the onus lies with the licensee to rebut this presumption.
Licensees who are subject to an audit investigation are expected to give auditors their full and complete cooperation including meeting all deadlines, responding to all inquiries in a timely fashion, and providing all requested information. Licensees who fail to meet deadlines without a reasonable excuse, or who fail to properly respond to audit inquiries in a timely way, can expect to be penalized.
OBCCTC Decision #21/2016:
The administrative penalties made available under Section 34 of the Act and Section 28 of the Regulation are designed to encourage compliance with the Act and Regulation. Penalties are intended to have a general and specific deterrence purpose – that is, to protect drivers and to discourage non-compliance with the legislation.
To ensure that licensees receive the appropriate deterrent message, the amount of any financial penalty must be sufficiently large to meet the objective of deterring non-compliance. The large financial penalties available under the Act and Regulation demonstrate an intention to ensure that administrative fines are not seen by licensees as merely another cost of doing business or part of the licensing costs.
In keeping with the above described purpose of the legislation, the factors which will be considered when assessing the appropriate administrative penalty include the following:
- The seriousness of the respondent’s conduct;
- The harm suffered by drivers as a result of the respondent’s conduct;
- The damage done to the integrity of Container Trucking Industry;
- The extent to which the Licensee was enriched;
- Factors that mitigate the respondent’s conduct;
- The respondent’s past conduct;
- The need to demonstrate the consequences of inappropriate conduct to those who enjoy the benefits of having a Container Trucking Services Licence;
- The need to deter those Licensees from engaging in inappropriate conduct, and
- Orders made by the Commission in similar circumstances in the past.
This list is not intended to be exhaustive.
OBCCTC Decision #06/2017:
There was no regulated rate in effect for “short trips” made by independent operators paid on a trip basis before December 22, 2014.
OBCCTC Decision #10/2017:
Drivers who eat while driving or while in line at the port are working, are not on a break, and are entitled to be paid for their work. It is not enough that the drivers have agreed that they are entitled to take an unpaid lunch break. Drivers must actually take the break before a licensee is entitled to deduct the time.
OBCCTC Decision #06/2017:
The Regulation and in particular Section 13 is to be interpreted and applied as follows:
The application of Section 13 hourly rates is not limited to just the time a company driver spends actually transporting a container by a truck. Rather, “container trucking services” for purposes of Section 13 also includes services directly relating to, or ancillary to, the transportation of a container by a truck, such as:
- Pre and Post trip inspections
- The relocation or movement of empty chassis which have been used or will be used to move a container as defined in the Regulation (a “container”) ;
- “Bob Tail” moves to or from marine terminals or container facilities in the lower mainland;
- The movement of containers by truck within a yard or facility.
Section 13 requires licensees to pay company drivers the regulated rates for all such “container trucking services”.
OBCCTC May 26, 2016 Repealed $40 Trip Rate Bulletin:
The Container Trucking Regulation (BC Reg 248/2014) which came into force on December 22, 2014 established certain rates of remuneration for truckers performing container trucking services for licensees. These rates included the following minimum rates:
- no less than $40 per trip for directly employed operators (section 10); and
- no less than $50 per trip for short trips performed by independent operators (section 12(2)).
These particular rates were only in effect from December 22, 2014 to May 13, 2015, when they were repealed by BC Reg 72/2015 (amendments to the original Container Trucking Regulation). These rates did not have retroactive application prior to December 22nd, 2014. In this bulletin I will refer to these rates together as the “Trip Rates”.
OBCCTC Decision #02 & #12/2016
The onus to become and remain compliant with the requirements of the Act rest entirely with the Licensee. Licensees should not rely on Commission auditors to determine whether or not they are compliant, nor should they wait until a Commission audit process is undertaken before taking steps to ensure compliance.
As employers are required by law to pay one half of CPP contributions on behalf of employees, that payment is a cost of doing business, and excluded from the definition of “benefits” in the regulation.
OBCCTC Decision #4/2016:
Alternative dispute resolution methods such as arbitration and mediation provide an important extension of the means by which complaints under the Act and the Regulation may be resolved, and I encourage parties to consider using these alternative proceedings where appropriate. Awards and decisions which result are likely to receive deference at the OBCCTC provided that complainants are treated fairly and any outcomes which result are consistent with the principles expressed or implied in the Act and the policies of the OBCCTC.
OBCCTC September 14, 2016 Bulletin:
Subject to the discretion of the Commissioner, and provided the Applicant obtains the approval and consent of the OBCCTC in advance, changes in control are now permitted.
Please see the OBCCTC’s September 14 2016, “Change in Control Bulletin” for more information.
Licences are non-transferrable.
The selling of licences is not permitted by the OBCCTC.
OBCCTC Decision #02/2016:
…keeping and maintaining payroll records which properly report and track hours worked, rates of remuneration for drivers, trips completed each day by drivers on your behalf, total compensation before taxes and any other deductions are paid, and any deduction made from the drivers compensation and the reason for the deduction
OBCCTC August 10, 2016 Bulletin:
Under Appendix D to Schedule 1 (Information Record Keeping Requirements), “[a] Licensee must retain a record for each Trucker who performs Container Trucking Services for the Licensee.” These records are to include the hours worked and trips completed on each day by the Trucker performing Container Trucking Services on behalf of the Licensee.
OBCCTC Decision #14/2016:
The holding back of remuneration to cover the cost of repairing a chassis is analogous to holding back monies to cover potential, future insurance claim costs. Accordingly, the cost of chassis repair is a Business Cost and therefore licence cannot be deducted.
Appendix E to Schedule 1 of the Licence:
the Licensee must not set off or deduct Business costs from Compensation or Wait Time Remuneration owed to a Trucker
Business Costs are defined in the Licence under Definitions:
includes but is not limited to: chassis rental, wear and tear on tires, cargo insurance, Smart Phone costs, bridge or road tolls, loading fees, Access Agreement charges, fees related to the Terminal Gate Compliance Initiative, GPS-related expenses, (unless the Sponsored Independent Operator has unreasonably failed to cooperate in the return of the GPS unit to the Commissioner or the Licensee)
OBCCTC May 26, 2016 Bulletin:
Insurance claim costs are Business Costs under the Licence. Therefore, the holding back of remuneration to cover potential, future insurance claim costs after an Owner Operator has left the company is prohibited.
OBCCTC Decision #6/2016:
Section 13(1) of the Regulation states the minimum hourly rates of pay are “inclusive of benefits”. Section 1.1 of the Regulation states that “benefit” does not include “(c) wages or other remuneration calculated on the basis of work done or productivity”. As vacation pay is a form of wages or other remuneration calculated on the basis of work done, it is not a benefit that can be included in calculating payment of the minimum hourly rate. It must be paid in addition to the minimum hourly rate.
Appendix E to Schedule 1 of the Licence:
the Licensee must not set off or deduct Business costs from Compensation or Wait Time Remuneration owed to a Trucker
OBCCTC Decision #6/2016:
Benefits will only to be included in the calculation of hourly rates for those periods for which there is coverage. Benefit payments will not be retroactively or prospectively applied to periods during which there is no coverage.
OBCCTC March 21, 2016 Bulletin:
The OBCCTC considers the practice of trip splitting to be a contravention of the Container Trucking Act and the Regulations.
OBCCTC Decision #6/2016:
If a company provides evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner’s auditor that a company driver has worked less than 2,340 hours for any licensee, audits are done at the $25.13/hour rate for that driver. Otherwise, audits are done to the $26.28/hour rate.
OBCCTC Decision #8/2016:
Overtime Premiums are not included in the calculation of the minimum wage rates established by Section 13 of the Regulation.