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Keith Widgett

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Ontario to increase minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2019

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Ontario is raising its minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2019, ensuring equal pay for part-time workers and increasing the minimum vacation entitlement as part of a major labour overhaul.

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Keith Widgett

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Keith Widgett

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Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has announced a plan to increase the provincial minimum wage to $15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2019.

The increase would be phased in over the next 18 months, rising to $14 an hour on Jan. 1, 2018, and then to $15 the following January.

After that, it will rise annually with inflation.

"People are working longer, jobs are less secure, benefits are harder to come by and protections are fewer and fewer," said Wynne. "In a time of change like this, when the very nature of work is being transformed, we need to make certain that our workers are treated fairly."

Currently, Ontario's minimum wage is $11.40 an hour.

Across Canada, the current minimum ranges from $10.72 in Saskatchewan to $13 in Nunavut. Alberta became the first province to pass a $15 hourly wage in September 2016, but it doesn't go into effect until October 2018.

Part of larger proposed legislation to provide more worker security

The wage increase is part of a larger piece of proposed legislation: The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, which aims to better protect part-time or contract workers.

Among the proposed changes are the requirement that after five years with the same employer, the minimum vacation entitlement for workers would rise to three weeks per year.

All workers would also be given 10 personal emergency leave days a year, and a minimum of two of those days must be paid. (Currently, only employees of large companies are entitled to this.)

Employers would not be allowed to request a sick note from an employee taking personal emergency leave.

Many of the changes address shift work in particular. The proposed legislation says employers would be required to pay three hours of wages to an employee whose shift is cancelled with less than 48 hours notice, and that employees would be able to refuse shifts without repercussion if given less than four days notice.

The proposed legislation also says:

Equal pay would be mandated for part-time workers doing the same job as a full-time workers.

Employers would be prohibited from misclassifying employees as "independent contractors."

Rules for creating a union would be modernized, including the extension of card-based certification to temporary workers, building services workers and community care workers.

The act also lays out a plan to hire 175 more employment standards officers, and launch an education program for employees and business owners to help them learn about their rights and responsibilities.

Proposed changes response to report

Wynne made Tuesday's announcement in response to a government-commissioned report released last week that included 173 recommendations addressing precarious work.

The Changing Workplaces review concluded that new technology, a shrinking manufacturing sector and fewer union jobs, among other factors, have left about a third of Ontario's 6.6 million workers vulnerable.

The report didn't examine the minimum wage, but Wynne says raising it will make a difference in millions of people's lives.

Wynne addresses opposition

The move to raise wages in Ontario has faced stiff opposition from small business operators and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, who argue that the move will lead to layoffs and fewer employees being hired.

Wynne touched on that opposition in her announcement, saying the province will work with small businesses "from now until Jan. 1 to make sure they are supported as these changes come into effect."

In an interview with CBC Toronto on Monday, Wynne said the provincial economy is doing well enough to handle a significant wage boost.

On Tuesday, she also said the provincial economy "is in a good place."

Statistics Canada reports that 9.2 per cent of Ontario's workforce - about 540,000 people - earn minimum wage.

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Ontario becomes 2nd province to go ahead with $15 an hour minimum wage

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Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has announced a plan to increase the provincial minimum wage to $15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2019. The increase would be phased in over the next 18 months, rising to $14 an hour on Jan. 1, 2018, and then to $15 the following January.

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Keith Widgett

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Keith Widgett

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Small businesses brace for impact of Ontario's minimum wage hike

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The Ontario Chamber of Commerce says the province's mandatory wage hike will be a big challenge for small businesses and people looking for steady jobs.

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Keith Widgett

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It is the law of unintended consequences. Or is it? In this case, the consequences will be both intended and unintended. Kathleen Wynne passed a 32 per cent increase in the Ontario minimum wage over the next 18 months to $15, with 23 per cent of it in only six months. Of course, the full 32 per cent will only occur if the Wynne government remains in power. So the intended consequence, like the other Hail Mary passes of that wounded government, such as rent control, negative shocks to the housing market and easier unionization, is the purchase of votes in the next election, mostly from the NDP, which Liberal voters had been cratering toward. Insofar as 25 per cent of Ontario workers are potentially affected, it is not a bad ploy. And it is not just workers earning less than $15 per hour who are affected. Other workers earning at or over that amount will require salary increases to stay above their lower income coworkers.

Minimum wages are also scheduled to increase to $15 over four years in Alberta, a 47 per cent increase. BC's NDP government has been openly musing about the same thing. I have had one union in B.C., where my client's workers earn just over $15, demand higher increases on the basis that they cannot be seen to accept wages just over the minimum wage.

What about the unintended consequences of this legislation? I have already had clients advising me that this move will require them to shut their doors, their thin profits leading inexorably to losses as result of the higher wages costs and without the ability to pass on those costs in higher prices. Some clients have talked with me about relocating across the border before they go broke, taking advantage of the now lower wage costs there, a bonus being they would be closer to their customers.

Trump's Buy America policy makes this more attractive. Their Canadian patriotism subordinated to the bottom line. Of course, U.S. and other foreign employers will immediately write off Ontario, Alberta and B.C. as places to setup shop. The minimum wage plus the new-easy unionization in Ontario will frighten off even the most stalwart. Other employers will stay afloat by automation or by making do with fewer employees, resulting in layoffs and extra work for those few lucky enough to keep their jobs. So much for protecting "vulnerable workers" as the Wynne government proudly described the change. The number of truly vulnerable workers will increase as employers avoid hiring and turn increasingly to contract workers.

Past minimum wage increases have disproportionately impacted teen unemployment, thereby both depriving them of a stepping stone into work skills and marketability and ending their financial contribution to lower income families And, of course, there is the impact on our EI and welfare systems.

Businesses in trouble will have to compensate for the higher wages at their lowest end by preserving salary costs through lower bonuses or lower wage increases for higher earners. ‎The reality is that government policy, and in particular this one, does not increase employers' ability to pay.

What impact will this increase have on young workers trying to get their foot in the door, to obtain valuable experience, or older workers attempting to re-engage in the workplace?

When these unintended consequences occur, as they inevitably will, it may have one other unintended consequence - a backlash against the governments by the very people whose votes they intended to garner.
Howard Levitt is senior partner of Levitt LLP, employment and labour lawyers. He practises employment law in eight provinces. Employment Law Hour with Howard Levitt airs Sundays at 1 p.m. on Newstalk 1010 in Toronto. Twitter.com/HowardLevittLaw

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Ontario's $15 minimum wage will have many layers of unintended consequences

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It is the law of unintended consequences. Or is it? In this case, the consequences will be both intended and unintended. Kathleen Wynne passed a 32 per cent increase in the Ontario minimum wage over the next 18 months to $15, with 23 per cent of it in only six months.

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Raising of the minimum wage within Ontario

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Raising of the minimum wage within Ontario

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Keith Widgett

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Keith Widgett

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Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne told the Star that the change is part of sweeping labour reforms that will take effect before the next election on June 7, 2018. (Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

But Horwath accused the Liberals of cynical electioneering "for their own political fortunes."

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown refused to say if he would allow the minimum wage to rise to $15-an-hour if his party wins the June 7, 2018 election.

"Everyone wants to have higher wages, but when a worker wakes up in the morning they need a job," said Brown, demanding the government produce a "cost-benefit analysis" to justify the hike.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business warned "small businesses, who don't share the larger profit margins of big business, will be forced to make difficult choices, including cutting hours and jobs."

"We are shocked and appalled that the government is broadsiding small business owners with a 32 per cent increase in the minimum wage within only one-and-a-half years," said the federation's provincial director Julie Kwiecinski.

But Toronto Mayor John Tory, long a proponent of a rising minimum wage, said "it seems like they have struck a reasonable balance" between the need of workers and of business.

The Liberal government will also guarantee that workers earn equal pay for equal work, regardless of their full-time, part-time or temporary employee status.

"We will ensure that part-time workers receive equal pay for equal work. The reality is that more companies are choosing to hire part-time employees. That in itself is not a bad thing," said Wynne.

"But it has in some cases created an unfair workplace in which some are paid less than others who do exactly the same job. Paying people the same wage for the same work is the very essence of fairness," she said.

"And that is what we as a government will insist on from companies and other organizations doing business in our province."

As well, the minimum vacation entitlements for employees with five or more years at a company will rise from two weeks annually to three.

"You know, Ontario is behind other provinces in guaranteeing better vacation rights. It's time to do what's right and what's fair," the premier said.

The government will also "establish fairer rules for scheduling - rules that give greater certainty to workers while maintaining flexibility for employers."

"For instance, your employer will now be required to pay you three hours' wages if they cancel your shift with less than 48 hours' notice."

Currently, firms are only penalized if they cancel shifts after an employee has arrived for work.

Wynne's government will also give workers the right to take up to 10 days of personal emergency leave each year, two of them paid.

Right now, there is no guaranteed paid leave for those coping with a family emergency.

Enforcement will also be strengthened, including the addition of 150 new workplace inspectors - doubling the Ministry of Labour's current complement.

"We heard that enforcement is key to making this work - so we're stepping that up," said Wynne.

"We will modernize the rules around creating a union. That includes the extension of card-based certification to three vulnerable sectors - temporary workers, building services workers and home- and community-care workers."

Unifor President Jerry Dias, Canada's most powerful private-sector union leader, said the measures are "a bold first step to modernize Ontario's employment laws."

"The government has demonstrated that it has heard the concerns of Ontario's most vulnerable workers and is now committed to taking action," said Dias, whose union represents 160,000 Ontario workers, including those at the Toronto Star.

Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff noted "the Ontario economy is strong and these changes will only make it stronger by supporting workers and their families to make ends meet, decreasing turnover and increasing productivity."

Labour Minister Kevin Flynn said the reforms stem from the 419-page Changing Workplaces Review, which was released last week after two years of consultation and research.

That review by special advisers C. Michael Mitchell and John C. Murray made 173 recommendations on improving work conditions in Ontario.

While the government won't enact all of them, Flynn promised the legislation would be introduced this week and enshrined in law by 2018.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce expressed concern about what it called "unproven sweeping reforms" and warned of "unintended consequences, including job losses, rising consumer costs and economic hardship."

Rabbi Shalom Schachter, one of 200 faith leaders across the province who have endorsed legislative change to protect vulnerable leaders, called the reforms' consultation process "extensive."

"Workers have waited long enough," he said. "It's time to have those changes implemented today."
With files from David Rider

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progressive conservative leader patrick brown

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Ontario's minimum wage jumping to $15 in 2019 | Toronto Star

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But Horwath accused the Liberals of cynical electioneering "for their own political fortunes." Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown refused to say if he would allow the minimum wage to rise to $15-an-hour if his party wins the June 7, 2018 election.

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Keith Widgett

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The drawbacks of raising Ontario's minimum wage

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Metro Ontario Inc. v Unifor, Local 414, 2016

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Metro Ontario Inc. v Unifor, Local 414, 2016

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Keith Widgett

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Keith Widgett