OTTAWA – Gig Workers United and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers condemn Bill 88, passed today by the Ford government, which modifies minimum employment standards for app-based workers.
While the Ford Government touts items in Bill 88 – regarding pay transparency and other items – that may arguably improve some working conditions, its key feature is minimum wage for time on ‘assignment.’ That is, a $15 per hour wage, but not for all hours worked. In other places where app employers have successfully lobbied for a minimum wage for engaged time only, app-based workers have ended up earning less.
“We know gig workers around the world who have dealt with minimum wage for ‘engaged time,’” says Jennifer Scott, president of Gig Workers United. “This government is playing a dangerous game with devastating consequences; bringing in a stand-alone bill that carves gig workers out of Employment Standards Act rights and protections is exactly what Uber has been lobbying for – this is the Working for Uber Act”.