Minimum wage has to go up
A person who makes minimum wage in Ontario, even if they work 40 hours per week, would gross $23,712 a year.
Can small businesses afford to pay a higher minimum wage? As a community, can we afford not to pay people more?
The provincial government is proposing legislation, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, that would see the general minimum wage raised from $11.40 per hour to $14 per hour on Jan. 1, 2018, and to $15 on Jan. 1, 2019, followed by annual increases at the rate of inflation.
The proposal has been causing some controversy but with less job security than ever, how else can we ensure that workers make a living wage? Consider the annual income of almost $24,000 (minus deductions) and take into consideration that a single person could pay around $1,000 for a one bedroom apartment, not taking into account other deductions, more than half of a workerʼs income could be allocated to housing, which is well beyond the accepted threshold for assessing poverty. Of course, someone making minimum wage would probably share living space to cut costs but even then, once they pay their bills, they would still have little or no money to inject into the local economy.
The pay increase may be hard to swallow for small shop owners, but the reality is that costs go up and all areas of business are affected, including labour.
Consider the changes in the workforce and how those minimum wage jobs used to go to young people getting started and are now held by a wider range of employees. The world of work is a tricky place to navigate these days with contract, part-time and working from home. The days of lifelong stable employment with potential for advancement and a full pension are gone for the most part.
“Over the past three years, Ontario’s economy has outperformed all G7 countries in terms of real GDP growth,” states the Premier’s office. “While exports and business investments are increasing and the unemployment rate is at a 16-year low, the nature of work has changed. Many workers are struggling to support their families on part-time, contract or minimum-wage work. Government has a responsibility to address precarious employment and ensure Ontario workers are protected by updating the province’s labour and employment laws.”
The proposed changes are a result of a two-year review of the Employment Standards Act of 2000 and Labour Relations Act of 1995, and include: Mandating equal pay for part-time, temporary, casual and seasonal employees who do the same job as full-time employees; equal pay for temporary help agency employees; bringing vacation time to at least three weeks after five years with a company; requiring employees to be paid for three hours of work if their shift is cancelled within 48 hours of its scheduled start time; make certain that employees are not misclassified as independent contractors, ensuring they get the benefits they deserve.
