An Alberta Hutterite colony has been ordered to pay dues for labourers who work in its concrete plant after it lost an appeal to the Workers’ Compensation Board earlier this month.
The Nov. 1 decision involves the Spring Ridge Colony east of Edmonton near Wainwright, Alta.
About 90 percent of the colony’s business involves agriculture, while the other 10 percent involves concrete manufacturing for pre-cast walls.
The colony incorporated the concrete side of the business, calling it Twin Valley Precast.
In the decision documents, the colony said it incorporated Twin Valley Precast separately for liability, risk management and tax purposes.
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However, members of the colony considered the pre-cast business as just another part of its overall operation, so it argued it should be given the same exemptions that were provided to its agricultural operations.
The Alberta workers’ compensation appeals commission disagreed.
Panel members ruled the concrete business has to be classified separately and put into the concrete manufacturing category. This means that the colony will have to insure workers in the pre-cast business and pay dues for them.
The colony was incorporated in 1994, and members began to manufacture pre-cast walls in 2000 for their own personal use.
However, in 2006 the plant began to sell its pre-cast products to customers outside the colony.
In 2015, the plant was upgraded and expanded to nearly 4,000 sq. metres. It has two bays, and each bay has a 20-ton crane. The plant can manufacture large projects, such as wall panels and oil pump bases.
Any agricultural work on Hutterite colonies is exempt from the province’s new OH & S rules because they are considered family farm operations. Manufacturing, on the other hand, isn’t exempt.
