Canada

The Saskatchewan government is changing labour rules in an effort to better protect late-night retail workers from violence.

Labour Minister Don Morgan told the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour convention in Regina that new regulations include a check-in system and personal emergency transmitters for all employees working alone in late-night retail establishments.

The new regulations also include requirements for safe cash handling procedures and video cameras for businesses that are open late.

The changes follow the death of Jimmy Wiebe, a gas station clerk who was shot and killed during a robbery at a gas station in Yorkton, near the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, in June 2011.

Wiebe's family and friends, as well as the Opposition NDP, called for more measures to protect workers including panic buttons, better lighting, barriers and security cameras.

But they also wanted the regulations to require employers to schedule at least two workers on late-night shifts or ensure that a worker was behind locked doors or a barrier when alone, and those aren't part of the changes.