The Province has announced legislation that gives app-based gig workers a $15 minimum wage and transparency when it comes to their tips.
The “Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act” guarantees a regular minimum wage for individuals employed by app-based services, such as ride-share drivers and couriers, which they will receive on top of their tips.
“As part of our plan to build a stronger economy that works for everyone, we want all workers to have every opportunity to earn a good living and provide for their families,” said Premier Doug Ford. “It doesn’t matter if you work for a big company, a small business, or for a rideshare app. Our government won’t leave any worker behind.”
The government’s proposals would enshrine the following rights and protections for digital platform workers:
- Earning at least the general minimum wage for time worked;
- The right to keep their tips along with regular pay periods;
- The right to information and clarity around algorithms including:
- how pay is calculated; and
- how and why a worker might be penalized in the allocation of work;
- Written notice if they are being removed from the platform and why;
- The right to resolve their work-related disputes in Ontario; and
- Protection from reprisal should they seek to assert their rights.
“No one working in Ontario should ever make less than minimum wage for an hour’s work,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour Training and Skills Development. “No one working in Ontario should be dismissed without notice, explanation, or recourse. No one should have to travel out of the country to resolve a workplace dispute or sign a contract they do not understand. These core rights are a foundation in our mission to help all workers earn bigger paychecks to take care of their families, not an endpoint.”
“We know that the gig economy is one of the fastest-growing employment sectors in Ontario and that as many as one in five Canadians currently take on work via a digital platform,” added Premier Ford at a news conference this morning.
Many digital platforms use algorithms to determine when and how quickly workers are given their next delivery or customer.
However, most digital platforms do not share this with their workers making it unclear why other workers may pick up more work than them.
No one working in Ontario should ever make less than #MinimumWage.
It doesn’t matter if you work for a big company, a small business or for a rideshare app. We won’t leave any worker behind.
Learn more: https://t.co/S2fLKReGok pic.twitter.com/gx37DmdNRw
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 28, 2022
