Yes, Dianne, you are very right... Here's something that happened to me recently:
My supervisor called me and asked if I would work an extra shift the week of June 26th. I said, "sure". I got off the phone and realized that Canada Day (a Statutory holiday for us) was that week. I phoned her back and said that if I work a fifth shift that week they would have to pay me overtime for my fifth shift. She said, "Oh no, we can defer your Stat, and since you are only working four shifts this week we can put the Stat in for you this week and pay you five shifts next week at straight time." I paused, and said, "No, I have issues with that." She was not at all happy with me because this left her short-staffed for the following week.
As far as I am concerned if they want me to work 5 days during a Stat week instead of only 4, which has been company policy for many, many years, they can damn well pay me for it. They are not going to mess around with Statutory holidays, and move them wherever they want them. Too many people worked hard for us to get Statutory Holidays off and/or paid extra for them, sooner or later we have to take a stand, and that day I did.
take care, Linda