Here is our joint statement with sector partners, urging the Ontario Ministry of Labour to improve Bill 148, The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act. You can read the statement below, or download it here.
As employment service providers in Ontario, we work daily to support residents who strive to find decent work to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Our clients seek jobs that would put them on a path to financial security and a career that provides opportunities for growth. We aim to work with employers who believe in and support decent work for their workforce and commit to fair working conditions.
As employment service providers, we welcome the current Ontario Government’s efforts to strengthen the province’s worker protection laws. A number of the proposed changes offer hope that our clients will be put on a path to financial security. In particular, we applaud the Government for making the commitment to raise the minimum wage to $15, which will lift many out of poverty. We are also encouraged to see the proposal to introduce the principle of equal pay for equal work for all categories of workers.
While all these proposed changes are important steps in the right direction, more needs to be done in order to meaningfully address the struggles for people who live with precarious work.
We call on you to further strengthen these measures by taking action on the following:
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Promote full-time, permanent work with adequate hours for all those who choose it.
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Offer fair scheduling with proper advance notice of at least 2 weeks. We do see your 3 hours of paydue to shift cancellation as a first step.
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Provide sufficient paid sick time for all employees – 7 days a year for full-time employees and pro-rated for part-time workers. Unpaid sick time has little benefit for vulnerable workers who cannotafford to take time off. The current proposal of 2 paid days must be increased to 7 days a year.
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Remove the sub-wage rates for people under 18, liquor servers, farm workers and hunting andfishing guides and others.
Every day in our employment programs, we witness the detrimental impact of precarious jobs on the physical, emotional and mental health of individual workers and their families. We urge the Ontario Government to build upon what you have already committed to, so that all members of our society can stay healthy, productive and active at work and in our communities.
Written by St. Stephen’s Community House & supported by:
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Birchmount Bluffs Neighbourhood Centre
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Christie Ossington Neighbourhood Centre
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Dixon Hall
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Hospitality Workers Training Centre
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KEYS Job Centre
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Labour Education Centre
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Learning Enrichment Foundation
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Newcomer Women's Centre
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North York Community House
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ONESTEP
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Ralph Thornton Community Centre
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The Neighbourhood Group
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Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office
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Times Change Women’s Employment Service
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Tropicana
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West Neighbourhood House
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Working Skills Centre
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Yonge Street Mission