By Staff
October 30, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
A group of voters that are going to be vital to Premier Kathleen Wynne if she wants to be re-elected as Premier next June heard her say today that she “had the opportunity to hear directly from workers about the changes we’re making with the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act.
As the bill returns to committee today, it was important to me to hear the voices of some of the millions of people who will be impacted by these changes. What I heard was similar to what I’ve been hearing from people in every corner of the province — it is time for action.
“The economy has changed. People are working harder than ever, but they just can’t get ahead. Parents are worried about whether they can pay for their child’s university or college tuition, or how they’ll afford retirement. Many are struggling to put food on the table and keep up with their bills. In a province like Ontario, where our economy is growing and unemployment is at a 17-year low, this is not fair and not acceptable. The system needs to work better and be fairer to the growing number of people who are put on contract, who are working part-time or who are among the nearly 30 percent of workers earning less than $15 an hour. Ontario can and must do better.
“The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act is about building the kind of province where anyone who works full time is able to buy groceries, make rent and care for their family. It is about cracking down on businesses that take advantage of part-time workers by paying them less and denying them benefits.
We didn’t pay her even the minimum wage but Burlington did return a Liberal to the Legislature for which she has been eternally grateful.
On January 12018 the province is increasing the minimum wage to $14 an hour, and then increasing it to $15 an hour one year later. They will make it illegal to pay part-time or contract workers less than full-time workers for doing the same work.
They will introducing paid sick days for every worker, stepping up enforcement of employment laws and giving workers at least three weeks’ vacation after five years with the same employer. The government will also make employee scheduling fairer and expanding personal emergency leave so all employees receive at least 10 days per year, including two days of paid leave.
Is all this enough to bring in a demographic that tends not to bother with elections? Kathleen Wynne certainly hopes so.
