A new bill that constitutes the most sweeping updates to the province’s workplace standards in two decades is now law.The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act will hike the minimum wage to $15, provide two paid, job-protected sick days for all workers, increase holiday entitlement, and boost protections for temporary employment agency workers. It passed its third and final reading Wednesday, with Liberal and NDP MPPs voting in favour and Conservative lawmakers opposing. The bill follows years of advocacy from workers’ rights groups who have long pointed to inadequate protections for Ontario’s growing body of precarious workers, as well as two years of research and public consultation conducted by two independent labour experts. In the GTA, around half of all workers face insecurity on the job according to a study by United Way and McMaster University.“Employment standards should be a strong floor of protection,” said Deena Ladd of the Toronto-based Workers’ Action Centre. “Some of these basic kinds of improvements are going to make a huge difference in workers’ lives.”The wage hike will see the minimum wage rise from $11.60 to $14 an hour in 2018, and $15 in 2019 — a boost for around 1.46 million Ontarians. Bill 148 will mandate equal pay for temp and part-time workers who are doing the same job as full-time employees, and make it easier for temp agency workers and homecare and building services workers to join a union.All workers will now have access to 10 personal emergency leave days and at least two paid sick days — extending coverage to some 1.6 million Ontarians who previously did not have the right to a single, unpaid day off when ill. Employees who are with a company for five years will be entitled to three weeks vacation. The legislation also provides new scheduling protections, including the right to three hours of pay if their shift is cancelled within 48 hours of start time, although the p ...
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