The Liberals have made three amendments to a labour bill on minimum wage and workers' rights, the Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act.

The amendments came through late Monday despite the attempt by the Progressive Conservatives to filibuster the committee by submitting more than 400 obstructionist amendments, in protest of the Liberals fast-tracking the bill by curtailing debate.

The amendments were made in response to concerns expressed primarily by workers' groups that the bill didn't go far enough.

Under current law, the agency that places a temporary worker is responsible for violations of that worker's rights under the Employment Standards Act, with the company directly employing the worker not held liable. The new bill will make the company jointly liable for unpaid wages, but the concern was that other parts of the Employment Standards Act weren't included.

Labour minister Kevin Flynn's office said one amendment passed Monday adds "public holiday pay and premium pay to the list of items for which a client employer can be held jointly and severally responsible for."

The two other amendments, according to Flynn's office:

Changed the transition period on the new rules for recovering unpaid wages from six months to three months
Moved the changes to the Workplace Safety Insurance Act from a legislative mandate to a regulatory authority

The bill is now heading back to the house for its final reading.

Along with requiring minimum wage to rise annually with inflation, the bill prohibits employers from charging recruitment fees and seizing passports from temporary foreign workers. It also scraps the $10,000 limit on the unpaid wages a worker can recover in court, and increases the recovery period to two years.

Worker protection bill amended to add holiday pay liability

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