TORONTO – Minimum-wage summer
students working for the Ontario government receive fewer benefits than
any other minimum-wage worker in the province, a practice that must stop
says the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey)
Thomas is demanding that the McGuinty government take immediate steps to
close the loophole that allows the province to sidestep “pay in lieu”
for holidays and vacations, payments that non-government employers are
responsible for.
“Thanks to a provision in the
Employment Standards Act that exempts the government, summer students
working for the province receive fewer benefits than someone working for
minimum wage in the retail industry,” Thomas said. “This government is
very vocal about increasing minimum standards for workers, as long as it
doesn’t apply to them.”
Under the Employment Standards Act,
the Crown (The Government of Ontario) is exempted from the sections of
the Act that require employers to pay for holidays and vacation.
“This is the same employer that was
bragging less than a year ago that they were named one of the Top 100
employers in Canada,” Thomas said. “Our students are the future of this
province. You would think this government would want to be a better
employer than some U.S.-based retail giant.”
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