Legislation to establish minimum pay rates for Ontario private-sector contractors has been introduced.
Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the proposed Government Contract Wages Act, 2018, at the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters, Local 46, in Toronto.
If passed, the province will establish minimum rates of pay for workers in construction, building cleaning and security services work, requiring contractors and subcontractors to pay according to those rates.
It would cover four construction sectors: roads; heavy engineering; sewers and water mains; and industrial, commercial and institutional.
Ontario’s original Fair Wage Policy was developed in the 1930s and was last updated in 1995.
The updated Fair Wage Policy would apply to contracts with all government ministries, and with specified government agencies and Crown corporations.
Over half of the workers in Ontario earning less than $15 per hour are between the ages of 25 and 64, and 60 per cent are women, according to the province.
The Ontario Liberals aim to push the bill through the legislature before the June election.
—With a file from The Canadian Press
