Campaigns
 

Students tell Minister of Labour "Help us get our money back!"

August 25, 2009

Summer students seeking fairness for their lost wages have stepped up their campaign with visits to Provincial Cabinet Members. A good start was with the Minister of Labour, Peter Fonseca.

Students came to deliver one message to Fonseca: “Help us get our money back!” Students working at Ontario Place and OPSEU Region 2 Executive Board Member, Eddy Almeida, paid a surprise visit at Peter Fonseca’s annual BBQ on Sunday August 23rd, to ask the Minister of Labour to do the right thing and get their holiday and vacation pay re-instated! Fonseca was receptive to the Fairness for Student Worker’s Campaign, and undertook to look into the issue.

Summer student Theepan Vasanthakvmar, an electrical engineering graduate from the University of Western Ontario, is feeling quite frustrated about the government rip off. He states: “I graduated with an engineering degree and have been unable to find a job in my field. I did get a job for now at Ontario Place, but I’m not even getting paid my holiday and vacation pay.” Theepan is not alone. He is one of four students who attended Fonseca’s BBQ. Three of the four were trained at the college or university level in engineering and the fourth is trained in graphic design. They are all working this summer at Ontario Place.

The McGuinty government is failing Ontario’s students. Students are working hard to earn their degrees and diploma’s, but are forced to accept employment, which is outside their trained profession, earning almost minimum wage. In the case of student’s working for the Ontario government this summer, they are not even receiving the 8.16% added to their hourly wage in lieu of holiday and vacation pay, that they were promised. Student’s want the money re-instated since they are counting on it to pay for rising living expenses and tuition fees.

Region 2 Executive Board member Eddy Almeida joined the students and engaged the Minister about the need for a government about-face. Almeida told Fonseca: “I want the McGuinty government to do the right thing – pay the students what they promised. The Employment Standards Act should apply to all employees, including Crown employers.” Currently, the Ontario government is the only employer that does not follow the Employment Standards Act because they have exempted themselves from the very rules they set for Ontario employers to follow.

Students will continue with creative means to lobby the McGuinty government in the weeks ahead.

Fairness for Ontario government summer students Index