TORONTO (CU)_Over the recent weeks, the government of Ontario has rolled out a number of worker-friendly policies across the province, as Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government heads towards an election in June next year. Last week, it unveiled the Working for Workers Act, under which a host of new guidelines, including the right to disconnect from work communications, mandatory bathroom breaks for delivery drivers, as well as enforcing regulated licences for recruitment agencies, will be enforced if the bill is passed.
This week, the provincial government announced a hike in the province’s minimum wage to $15 an hour from January 2022, a move which is expected to benefit 760,000 workers. The current minimum wage for Ontario workers is $14.35, and according to Ford, the increase will also be applicable to waiters and liquor servers, who are on a lower minimum wage of $12.55 an hour.
“I’ve always said workers deserve to have more money in their pockets because they earned it,” the Premier told reporters. “They’ve worked hard and put in long hours, the least the government can do is ensure we’re making life more affordable for them.” He went on to praise the hard work of delivery drivers, grocery store workers, custodial staff and other frontline workers during the pandemic, noting that they met the moment “when it mattered the most”.
According to Armine Yalnizyan, a former economic policy advisor to Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development, this recent pay hike was “long overdue”, adding that “…it’s not like the amount that we are talking about is so great”.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) warned of the risks associated with such a decision, noting that they were not consulted on the new legislation.
“It is dangerous to bring in major new labour reforms without addressing or protecting against unintended consequences, such as job losses, rising consumer costs, service cuts, and economic hardship for businesses and our greater economy,” Rocco Rossi, the president of the OCC, said in a statement.
