Ontario's Labour Market is Failing its Workers

Under the promise to reduce poverty, the Ontario Government has put its faith in the labour market to grow and be more inclusive over the next generation. It further introduced the Ontario Child Benefit, intended to provide assistance to Ontario’s working poor families.

But, reliance on the labour market is not enough to reduce poverty for a growing number of Ontarians. In a report entitled “Working isn’t working for Ontario’s Families”, we learned that workers laid off from so-called “good jobs” are often forced to take an average of 25% in pay cuts if they find a new job. Many others lose more than 25% in pay, particularly in economically depressed regions of Ontario.

Social assistance and disability rates continue to fall further behind. Low-income families are less able to keep up with expenses than they were ten and fifteen years ago. In its report, A Growing Storm, the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB), stated costs of basic necessities have increased at a pace much faster than the rate of inflation. Further, according to the ODSP Action Coalition, rates paid to welfare recipients decreased by approximately 40% in real dollars since 1993, and Ontario Disability Support payments by about 19%, despite modest rate hikes in the past 5 years.

With the price of gas escalating at its geometric pace, the costs of delivering goods and services have risen consequently. The OAFB pointed out for example, the cost of fresh produce and other healthy choices in food have risen at a much faster rate than unhealthy, fattening food. Housing costs far outpaced inflation, particularly since vacancy de-control was introduced in landlord-tenant legislation in Ontario, meaning limits to rent hikes on empty units were removed.

While Ontario’s government is attempting to address these issues with a paced increase in minimum wage, which currently sits at $8.75 per hour and is expected to rise to $10.25 per hour by 2010, it largely failed to address other issues facing labour, such as a declining rate of unionization, lack of regulations governing staffing agencies that provide almost 1 in 4 jobs today and increasing instability and non-permanent nature of many jobs. The dream of one day having a full-time career and retiring on a healthy pension is largely over for many Ontarians.

If the labour market is a cornerstone of Ontario’s poverty reduction strategy, then its must work on the following:

a. Return to the card system for all sectors to encourage more workplaces to unionize;

b. Pass a “made in Ontario” policy for goods and services purchased by the public sector where possible;

c. Require a “living wage” in all companies and organizations that do business with or receive funding or subsidies from the Ontario government;

d. Address the labour market needs of persons with disabilities and older workers to ensure they can find jobs that meet their skills and educational backgrounds, as well as bring them out of poverty;

e. Provide a system of licensing and regulation in the staffing sector so the rights of workers in temporary employment agencies are protected as any other job would be under employment standards legislation; and

f. Work with small business to ensure the continued viability of businesses and assist them in their growth, including hiring and retention of new employees.

For individuals who are unable to work for reasons of disability, caregiver responsibilities, or temporary illness or disablement, Ontario’s social safety net must be intact to ensure such persons have enough to meet their basic needs and continue to live in dignity without having to turn to charities.

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