On Monday April 14 the Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage in Ontario held rallies in at least 6 communities across the province. This month’s rallies to raise the minimum wage to 14 dollars an hour were focused on the low wage earned by temp workers in the province.
Workers who find jobs through temp agencies are often subjected to demeaning treatment, unsafe working conditions and wage theft. In its last enforcement blitz the Ministry of Labour found that three quarters of temp agencies were violating the employment standards act. Temp workers get paid less than other workers because about 40 percent of their wages go to their temp agency. RankandFile.ca interviewed Lorraine Ferns, a member of the Workers’ Action Centre in Toronto and a former temp worker, about the fight for the 14 dollar an hour minimum wage campaign and the challenges facing temp workers.
[audio:https://www.rankandfile.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/14minimumwage.mp3]