TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 28, 2014) - Campaign leaders are available to comment on the minimum wage increase to $11 on June 1, 2014 and the impact of a 75-cent increase on workers.
Although on June 1 the general minimum wage will increase from $10.25 to $11 an hour - it's an amount that still leaves full-time minimum wage earners more than 16% below the poverty line.
"It's nowhere near what workers actually need," said Jesse Cullen from We Are Oshawa. "But it does show that organizing for change can bring results. And it's strengthened my resolve to fight for a $14 minimum wage for all of us."
The June 1 minimum wage hike formalizes a concession made by the Wynne government in response to the province-wide campaign led by community and labour groups to raise the minimum wage to $14.
However, Campaign supporters point out that not all minimum wage workers will receive a 75-cent increase on June 1:
- Students under the age of 18 will receive only 70 cents more - a shift from $9.60 to $10.30;
- Liquor servers will receive a only 65 cents more - an increase from $8.90 to $9.55; and
- Farmworkers are excluded from all minimum wage provisions of the Employment Standards Act, including any restrictions on hours of work, or provisions for overtime and vacation pay.
"The need for at least $14 an hour isn't going away," said Shashi Ahilan, a leader in the Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage. "There are too many of us - about a million - struggling to get by on inadequate wages and we're not going away."
For more information on the Campaign, visit: www.raisetheminimumwage.ca.
Follow the campaign Twitter account @fairwagesnow and hashtag #14now.
The Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage is coordinated by ACORN, Freedom 90, Mennonite New Life Centre, OCAP, Ontario Campaign 2000, Parkdale Community Legal Services, Peel Regional Labour Council, Put Food in the Budget, Social Planning Toronto, Toronto and York Region Labour Council, Unifor and Workers' Action Centre.
| Local contacts: | |
| Brampton/Mississauga: | Anthony Tambureno, Peel Regional Labour Council |
| (905) 330-1310 | |
| Burlington: | Cathy Stokes, Voices for Change |
| cmordue.55@gmail.com | |
| Guelph: | Peter Miller, Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage - Guelph |
| (226) 500-3433, p3miller@gmail.com | |
| Hamilton: | Tom Cooper, Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction |
| (905) 523-5600, tcooper@hcf.on.ca | |
| Ryan Sparrow, Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage - Hamilton | |
| (905) 923-0411 | |
| Deirdre Pike, Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton | |
| (905) 524-1718 | |
| Kingston: | Lisa Marion, Kingston and District Labour Council |
| (613) 548-4952, unionlisa@gmail.com | |
| Kitchener: | Rachel Avery, Poverty Makes Us Sick |
| (519) 729-7243 | |
| North Bay: | Jared Hunt |
| jaredhunt72@hotmail.com | |
| Oshawa: | Jesse Cullen, We Are Oshawa |
| (905) 441-9112 | |
| Ottawa: | Jill O'Reilly, Ottawa ACORN |
| (613) 808-6523 | |
| Peterborough: | Paul Brown, Peterborough Workers' Action Centre |
| (705) 559-1397 | |
| Timmins: | J.P. Desilets, Timmins & District Labour Council |
| (705) 363-7224 | |
| Toronto: | Sonia Singh, Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage |
| (647) 235-6912, sonia@workersactioncentre.org | |
| Sudbury: | Shelley Condratto, Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre |
| (705) 470-3323 | |
| Thunder Bay: | Terri Carter, Poverty Free Thunder Bay |
| (807) 577-5833 | |
| Windsor: | Paul Chislett, Windsor Workers Education Centre |
| (519) 995-8351 | |
| York Region: | Yvonne Kelly, Freedom 90 |
| (416) 697-4208 |
Contact Information:
Sonia Singh
(647) 235-6912
sonia@workersactioncentre.org