More paid vacation, higher minimum wage coming, Premier Kathleen Wynne vows

The changes are part of sweeping labour reforms being announced Tuesday at Queen’s Park by Wynne, who noted “We have fallen behind.”

Thestar.com
May 29, 2017
By Robert Benzie

Ontario is raising the minimum paid vacation from two weeks annually to three for all workers with five or more years at the same job, says Premier Kathleen Wynne.

Wynne told the Star the change is part of sweeping labour reforms being announced Tuesday at Queen’s Park that will take effect before the next election on June 7, 2018.

The premier noted many European countries already mandate far longer paid holidays than three weeks a year.

“We have fallen behind,” she said Monday.

The government will also outline the timetable for raising the hourly minimum wage from $11.40 to $15 and reveal measures for making it easier for workers to join unions.

“People being able to act collectively has contributed to the civility of our society,” said Wynne, adding employees should be allowed to organize “without being strong-armed or bullied” if they want to sign union cards.

“I would like to see more people who are working in precarious work protected. Organized labour protects people, protects workers.”

Wynne and Labour Minister Kevin Flynn are using the 419-page Changing Workplaces Review, which was released last week, as the blueprint for reform legislation to be tabled this fall.

“The prosperity we’re seeing in the Ontario economy now has to be shared by everybody ... the world has changed,” said Flynn.

Prepared by special advisers C. Michael Mitchell and John C. Murray, the review made 173 recommendations on improving job conditions for Ontarians.

“There are a lot of recommendations. We will be doing some of them, not all of them,” Wynne emphasized.

With Ontario’s economy leading the nation in growth, the premier said “we are in a position now” to take bold action to help workers.

But she is bracing for backlash from business groups concerned about rising labour costs.

“There’s going to be howling. The business community will be yelling at me. People will yell about the three weeks,” said Wynne.

“I know that there will be people who will be upset. Part of that, I think, will be because they haven’t had the chance to think through exactly what the implications will be and what are the other supports we’re putting in place,” she said.

“The biggest issue that we’re dealing with is people who can’t make ends meet. It’s just not enough ... they can’t do it on $11.40 an hour.”

To allay concerns from business, the government will be “phasing in” the minimum wage rise to $15, Wynne said, but she declined to say, until Tuesday, what the timetable would be.

“There are people who are struggling,” she said, adding having better-paid Ontarians is good for everyone.

“Having people who can look after themselves, and can buy the things that they need and to look after their kids ... that’s good for business, that’s good for small businesses all across the province.”

Flynn said he is especially concerned about vulnerable workers.

“There’s a group of people that seem to be stagnant, seem to be falling behind, and yet they’re very, very important people that we rely on. For example, they work in our restaurants, they do our home care,” the minister said.

Those same employees often work at the whim of their bosses with short notice for shifts.

Flynn promised “the same kind of scheduling notice that you or I would want.”

He also wants to guarantee that Ontario workers earn equal pay for equal work, regardless of their full-time, part-time or temporary employee status.

“The number of people that are working part-time is something that obviously concerns us. And it’s not just that they’re working part-time, but they’re working part-time at a lower hourly rate than somebody who is full-time,” the minister said.

“We’ve turned our minds to that ... Two people doing the same work side by side in the same factory, the same business, obviously deserve to be paid the same,” he said.

The goal is for employers to hire permanent staff, not rely on contract workers.

To achieve that, Queen’s Park wants to close loopholes enabling businesses to claim that workers, who are effectively full-timers, are independent contractors as a way of paying them less.