Ontario Is Furious With Doug Ford’s Minimum Wage Freeze And Workers Are Fighting Back
Doug Ford's government made the controversial decision yesterday to formally freeze any planned hikes to minimum wage in Ontario, which was supposed to go up to $15 an hour as of January. Ford also eliminated workers' entitled paid sick days, and has reduced the number of personal days to just eight per year.
READ ALSO: This Super Controversial Decision By Doug Ford Just Cost Ontario $3 Billion
This decision shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, especially because he had promised to freeze minimum wage during his campaign. But, for many workers in Ontario, the announcement is disappointing, to say the least.
Some Ontarians who have taken to Twitter to express how the really feel about the Ford Government's latest announcement say that Doug Ford and his Conservatives aren't "for the people" at all, despite it being the basis of their entire brand.
Others say that Ford is clearly only for the people's bosses, or for the rich. They say that the Premier seems to be entirely against the people, or has abandoned their needs altogether.
When Doug @fordnation Ford told voters in the election that 'help is on the way,' I don't think they thought it meant being 'royally screwed' by the PCs. When Ford said he was 'for the little guy,' he really meant 'for the little guy's boss.'
Cons always for the people before they’re elected, then pic.twitter.com/kCHHOiJ2HX
He meant “ for the RICH people “.💵💵💵
While the overwhelming majority of people on Twitter aren't happy with Ford's latest actions, other Ontarians have taken their anger to a whole new level - they've taken it to the streets.
Last night, the provincial Minister of Labour's office was broken into and vandalized to send a message to the Government that workers would not take these decisions sitting down. In fact, the message was made very clear when it was spraypainted on the office wall. The message reads "Attack Workers We Fight Back $15."
Here's what vandals sprayed on the wall of Labour Minister Laurie Scott's office last night after the government cancelled the planned $1 increase to the $14-an-hour minimum wage as of Jan. 1. #onpoli pic.twitter.com/Zq02dqdJYv
Here are some photos supplied by the premier's office of the vandalism done to Labour Minister Laurie Scott's office last night. She will scrum here at Queen's Park at 10:15 a.m. #onpoli pic.twitter.com/6RXwbCnjJ7
READ ALSO: Minimum Wage Is About To Go Up In These Canadian Provinces, But Not In Ontario
The minimum wage freeze comes out of the Conservatives decision to repeal parts of Bill 148 and guarantees that the wages won't go up until at least 2020. Meanwhile, other provinces in Canada like Alberta have already raised their minimum wage to $15 an hour, proving that it can, in fact, be done.
Source: Globe and Mail