Ontario Minimum Wage

November 3 2021 - The Ontario government has announced prospective legislation that would increase the general minimum wage from $14.35 to $15.00 per hour from January 1, 2022.

The special minimum wage rate for liquor servers would be removed, entitling these workers to the general minimum wage.

Minimum wage rate for specific job categories if the legislation is passed:

• General Minimum Wage Rate - $15.00 per hour
• Students (under 18, upto 28 hours a week school time + school breaks) Minimum Wage Rate - from $13.50 to $14.10 an hour.
• Hunting and fishing guides currently have a minimum rate of $71.75 for working less than five consecutive hours in a day, and $143.55 for working five or more hours in a day. The new proposed rate would be $75.00 for working less than five consecutive hours in a day, and $150.05 for working five or more hours in a day.
• Homeworkers (people doing paid work in their home for a third-party employer; e.g. answering telephone calls for a call centre or writing software for a high-tech company) - from $15.80 an hour to $16.50 an hour

Premier Doug Ford said:

"Ontario’s workers have been the unsung heroes of this pandemic, as they’ve stocked shelves, kept our supply chain moving and helped so many of us enjoy a meal among family and friends at a local restaurant. When we asked labour leaders what their priorities were, increasing the minimum wage was at the top of the list. As the cost of living continues to go up, our government is proud to be working for workers, putting more money into their pockets by increasing the minimum wage."

OPSEU/SEFPO President Warren (Smokey) Thomas said Ontarians must step up and support businesses in their community as the province emerges from the pandemic:

"If small business is to support workers with a living wage, then it's up to us, unionized workers, to support these businesses so they can pay those wages, I'm asking everyone, please invest in your local economy."

"Unless we want our communities to profoundly change, we must support local stores that have suffered greatly during this pandemic, To my members, I say support local businesses because it's either buy local or bye bye local."

Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.commented:

"Workers on the frontlines of our retail, wholesale, gaming, warehousing and broader service sectors who are paid a fraction of their worth will see this increase directly I'm glad this government has reversed course and has now decided to raise workers' wages."

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