ON ISSUE #28 - 32-per-cent hike in minimum wage rates will cause many small businesses to close

[Bluebulldog]

One of the immediate things I noticed was going to the local 7/11 to get gas at around 7pm on Wed.

Typically there are always two people on shift. Wed night there was only one. A woman in her late 20s-30s. She was alone, and would be until 12am, when her relief came in, also alone.

Fewer shifts, and in some cases, sacrificing employee security. There is no requirement under the legislation to have 2 staff on, it was a measure the owner had put in place.

[terrym]

She lives on optics and boolsheet. But Liberals buy it.

[yellow dog]

One of the immediate things I noticed was going to the local 7/11 to get gas at around 7pm on Wed.

Typically there are always two people on shift. Wed night there was only one. A woman in her late 20s-30s. She was alone, and would be until 12am, when her relief came in, also alone.

Fewer shifts, and in some cases, sacrificing employee security. There is no requirement under the legislation to have 2 staff on, it was a measure the owner had put in place.

The employer is to provide a 911 panic button device that is fastened or placed under a counter,panic necklace or a wrist panic button device in case of emergency. These are relatively cheap devices when a person is working alone and needs 911 assistance.

[Bluebulldog]

The employer is to provide a 911 panic button device that is fastened or placed under a counter,panic necklace or a wrist panic button device in case of emergency. These are relatively cheap devices when a person is working alone and needs 911 assistance.

Source please?

Ontario is one of the few jurisdictions in the Country to my knowledge has no legislation pertaining to working alone, except with relation to Confine Space Entry.

[rick_iles]

Source please?

Ontario is one of the few jurisdictions in the Country to my knowledge has no legislation pertaining to working alone, except with relation to Confine Space Entry.

Even the police work alone !! Nothing legislative to prevent it.
As I’m sure you are aware !!
We went to lunch at our usual haunt, specials are all up 2 bucks !!

[mosquito]

Calling Wynne's comments as dishonest and showing the facts....

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...ticle37513049/
Ontario is out of the gate with a new hourly wage floor of $14 – up 21 per cent from a year ago – and on its way to $15 next January. It has not taken long for the gasps to emerge from people who are not experiencing the nirvana they were promised.

Premier Kathleen Wynne intimated that this kind of outcome is all news to her, she has also called it bullying on the part of employers – a double-double of disingenuousness, so to speak. The fact that the owners are family to original franchisee Ron Joyce grabs attention, but is a red herring because thousands of other business owners – many of those who barely clear livable wages themselves – are having to confront exactly the same challenges in their workplaces.

The financials of this franchisee are not known, but it can't be atypical of the hospitality sector in general, where about one-third of businesses are losing money in any given year. Yes, wages tend to be lower than average in this industry, but it is because margins are low for owners as well.

In the case of this particular Tim Hortons franchise, despite being slammed by the Premier, the impacts actually look quite muted. There are apparently no layoffs, and there is nothing to suggest the franchise owners are better off after cutting staff benefits. Equally, their employees – as a group – are probably just as well off as before. It is just that the value of some of their benefits were traded for wages.

Until now, discussion of the impacts has been confined to the abstract space, with academics, organizations like the province's Financial Accountability Officer and, more recently, the Bank of Canada weighing in. Each comes up with slightly different forecasts, but all recognize that not all low-income earners will benefit from higher minimum wages. That we now see some of the negative repercussions show up among real people is not the fault of employers, but of those who set up people's unfulfillable expectations. Suggesting that raising minimum wages would help all employees was wrong and dishonest.


Libs lying and spinning the truth to divide people more .... must be an election this year.

[trimmer21]

Even the police work alone !! Nothing legislative to prevent it.
As I’m sure you are aware !!
We went to lunch at our usual haunt, specials are all up 2 bucks !!

Police are covered under their collective agreement as part of occupational health and safety for two-person units on night shifts,but,it's not a provincial regulation. Timmie's has raised their prices across the board as have virtually all fast food outlets,not a lot,but,enough to make up the difference to comply with the legislation.

[yellow dog]

Even the Toronto Star is speaking the truth ...

"A 32-per-cent hike in minimum wage rates will cause many small businesses to go out of business, especially those of us in the labour-intensive restaurant industry,"
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/comm...-to-close.html
The provincial government’s recent announcement raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour in the next 18 months garnered headlines like “a good day for the little guy.” We beg to differ. The other “little guys,” hard-working and risk-taking owners of Ontario’s small business community, will have more bad days making ends meet.

A 32-per-cent hike in minimum wage rates will cause many small businesses to go out of business, especially those of us in the labour-intensive restaurant industry. Ontario restaurants have the lowest profit margin in Canada, according to both Statistics Canada and industry association Restaurant Canada.

The average Ontario restaurant owner has only 10 employees with annual revenues around $689,000. Ontario restaurateurs earn the lowest pre-tax profit in Canada, 3.4 per cent or $23,450 per year. This wage hike will cost them $47,000 per year.

...
Premier Wynne has backtracked on her promise to let the consumer price index determine annual minimum wage increases and keep it out of politics.



I talked to some friends I know in a local restaurant and they are just at break even, when you look at with $700+ electric bills (cooking, heat, water heating all gas and about 1/3 that), increases in meat and produce etc. Their plans are to not hire full time staff, but probably will replace the higher costing full time staff with several part timers (students likely as the lower pay option) and spend more of their own time working.

P.S. I stopped in at the restaurant near to my friends, seems the previous owner lasted just over 1 year from start of construction to selling cheap just to get out! .. and the new owner was already complaining about expenses and costs....

Mosquito I do not recall any past Conservative Government implementing a huge increase with regards to minimum wage .

[trimmer21]

Mosquito I do not recall any past Conservative Government implementing a huge increase with regards to minimum wage .

They were smart enough to leave this to the private sector like the Liberals should have done. Many businesses aren't in the position to sustain added overhead and their products won't sustain market share when the costs rise and must be passed on to customers. Net result is businesses eventually collapse. Then,everyone loses.

[Bushmoose]

Wynne is just loving this Tim Hortons debacle! It's taking the pressure off her and throwing it at business. It's unfortunate that there are so many voters who don't or won't have the brains to see through this and place the blame squarely where it belongs! In Wynnes lap!