WHAT YOU CAN DO

Make sure your friends and neighbours know about their rights at work - visit our Know Your Rights page for booklets and factsheets.

VICTORIES

Through Bad Boss actions many WAC members have been able to pressure bad bosses to pay up unpaid wages.

When the Ministry ordered employer Prive Spa to pay wages owing to former employees, workers thought they had won their case. But it was only after speaking out about their unpaid wages in the media, that workers finally got paid. As a result of this pressure, workers received all the money owing to them!

For three years Amato Pizza refused to pay workers’ wages. The Ministry of Labour prosecuted the owners and fined them over $300,000.

Bad Bosses at Beautiful South/Swag and North Star Textiles were prosecuted and fined for not paying workers’ wages. The owner of Beautiful South was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

WAC is proud to be an advocate for change, and thus, under current legislation, cannot be a registered charity or issue tax receipts.

WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW

WAC CONTINUES TO PUSH FOR BETTER ENFORCEMENT

WAC and its members have met many times with MPP’s and Ministry of Labour officials to push for much needed funds to hire more employment standards officers. Our goal was $10 million – enough to hire 100 new inspectors.

As part of its poverty reduction strategy, the Ontario government promised in December 2008 to invest $10 million annually to hire about 100 new employment standards officers. With the 2010 budget announcement March 28, 2010, we have now seen a total 7.5 million devoted to this commitment. We are pleased to see that the government has continued their commitment to improving the enforcement of worker’s basic employment standards during these hard economic times.

Excerpt from the 2010 Ontario Budget Announcement (Employment Standards Officers): “To ensure that people have secure work environments where they are treated with dignity and respect, in the 2009 Budget the government invested an additional $4.5 million annually to increase the number of employment standards officers in the province. In the 2010 Ontario Budget, the government is investing an additional $6 million over two years. This initiative will help reduce the backlog of claims, improve the protection of Ontario’s employees and modernize employment standards for the benefit of workers and businesses.”

Working conditions continue to deteriorate for many Ontario workers facing the impact of the recession. With the pressures of an economic downturn, many workers in precarious work are thinking twice about quitting a bad job, leaving them at the mercy of employers who may be inclined to break the rules to weather the storm. Ontario must set a higher standard than that for those who are trying to get ahead. We will continue to ensure that the full commitment of $10 million will be followed through.

BAD BOSS ACTIONS

WAC members continue to organize Bad Boss actions to expose employers who are violating the law to support workers to get their unpaid wages.

WAC RESOURCES

WAC letter to the Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan on priorities for the Ontario 2010 Budget (February 2010).

WAC submission to the Minister of Finance, Dwight Duncan, on priorities for the Ontario 2010 budget. (February 2008), including recommendations on funding for improved enforcement.

Working on the Edge (May 2007) - WAC 82-page research report documents workers' experiences of precarious work (temp, contract, self-employed), and contains detailed recommendations for change.

Effective and Enforced Employment Standards for Improved Income Security (2005)