Minimum Wage

First, they chose to use a T-shirt company as the experiment, and they wanted to pay the employees $12 an hour. They did the required market research, bought the building and equipment, hired the staff, much of which was unskilled labour, and began to produce the product. They marketed the product, and they had to add an additional $0.50 to the finished product in order to compete within their field, and the business was such a success, they eventually turned the company over to the employees, as owners/workers to keep the company going without their participation. This is what I have a problem with. If a company is paying $5.95 to work as a liquor server, or $6.85 for general help, that will not pay the bills. $8.00 an hour will not pay the bills. $9.00 an hour simply brings the worker up to the poverty line, which is an improvement, but more can be done. The Ontario NDP wanted to make the minimum wage $8.00 an hour immediately, and index it to inflation. That perhaps would be a start, but I maintain that we should start at $9.00 an hour, indexed to inflation, and increase it to $12 an hour over the next two terms of the government, which would be about 8 to 10 years. That would give business time to adjust to pricing, and any initial layoffs would have a chance of recovery over that period. If Ireland can pay $12 an hour, along with Australia working toward a similar minimum wage, then why on earth can't a rich province like Ontario do the same ? Business that complains about the minimum wage being too high has not only not done the market research on their product or service, they shouldn't be in business at all. I've often wondered how much the owners make in these companies that whine so much, what kind of house they live in, what kind of car they drive, etc. I know from personal experience that a golf course can be very lucrative, but due to the laws in Ontario, anyone that works outdoors on a golf course is not entitled to overtime in excess of 44 hours per week, and they are not entitled to statutory holiday pay. I had to complain to the Ministry of Labour to get additional money I felt was owed to me because I worked inside as a mechanic, as well as a superintendent, and the weeks that I worked indoors more than 50% of the time, I was entitled to all the benefits. The weeks I worked more than 50% of total hours outdoors I was not entitled to these benefits. That was due to the fact that golf courses fall under the Agriculture category. Meanwhile, the owner had two homes, drove a Mercedes-Benz, and was a millionaire after about 8 years in the business. You must agree with me that this is not fair to the worker, and the MoL should streamline their rules to keep things a little simpler. The point of this article is to make you aware that we, in Ontario, can do much better than we have in the past. I feel that within 10 years, we should have a minimum wage pegged at $12 an hour, indexed to inflation, and nevermore would people in this province ever have to work for wages below the poverty line. They have recently coined a new word, McJobs. I can tell you that a certain fast-food chain is not happy about this, but they are a part of the problem. Nobody in Ontario should have to be called the "working poor". We can change that, but it will take some time and effort. It is a worthwhile cause.